IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


11.25 


ut  Uii   |2.2 

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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions 


Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


1980 


Technical  Notes  /  Notes  techniques 

The  Institute  ha*  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Physical 
features  of  this  copy  which  may  alter  any  of  the 
images  in  the  reproduction  are  checked  below. 

L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  AtA  possible  de  se  procurer.  Certains 
dAfauts  susceptibles  de  nuire  it  la  quality  de  la 
reproduction  sont  notte  ci-dessous. 

Coloured  covers/ 
Couvertures  de  couleur 

— 

Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

•■. 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  gAographiques  en  couleur 

— 

Coloured  plates/ 
Planches  en  couleur 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d6color6es.  tacheties  ou  piquAes 

Show  through/ 
Transparence 

kJ 

Tight  binding  (may  cause  shadows  or 
distortion  along  interior  margin)/ 
Reliure  serr6  (peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou 

1 — 1 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 

D 


de  la  distortion  le  long  de  la  marge 
int^rieure) 


Additional  comments/ 
Commentaires  supplAmentaires 


Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  bibliographiques 


n 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
ReliA  avec  d'autres  documents 


Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


Plates  missing/ 

Des  planches  manquent 


Additional  comments/ 
Commentaires  supplAmentaires 


D 
D 


Pagination  incorrect/ 
Erreurs  de  pagination 


Pages  missing/ 
Des  pages  manquent 


Maps  missing/ 

Des  cartes  giographiques  manquent 


T 

P 
o 

fl 


T 
c 
o 

a 

T 
fi 
ir 


ir 
u 
b 
f( 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  iteeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reprodultes  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetA  de  I'exemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformit6  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
fllmage. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche  shall 
contain  the  symbol  -^^  (meaning  CONTINUED"), 
or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"),  whichever 
applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparattra  sur  la  der- 
nlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le  cas: 
le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le  symbols 
y  signifie  "FIN". 


The  original  copy  was  borrowed  from,  and 
filmed  with,  the  kind  consent  of  the  following 
Institution: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


L'exemplaire  filmA  fut  reproduit  grfice  A  la 
ginArosit*  de  i'Atabiissement  prAteur 
sulvant : 

Bibllothique  nationale  du  Canada 


Maps  or  plates  too  large  to  be  entirely  included 
in  one  exposure  are  filmed  beginning  in  the 
upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to  right  and  top  to 
bottom,  as  many  frames  as  required.  The 
following  diagrams  illustrate  the  method: 


Les  cartes  ou  les  planches  trop  grandes  pour  §tre 
reprodultes  en  un  seul  ciicht  sont  filmtes  d 
partir  de  Tangle  supArieure  gauche,  de  gauche  A 
droite  et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'Images  nAcessaire.  Le  diagramme  suivant 
illustre  la  mAthode  : 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

TH£ 


NORTHMEN     IN     MAINE. 


tarn 


.   , 


¥. 


? 


f 


icuu  I^Ufonsirc  dt  ^aintopc, 


DISCCVKKEK  OF  MASSACm'SRTTS  UAV, 

IJ4X. 


Alfonit  ajant  Juivy  flui  dt  vingi  it  vingt  am 
Par  rnilli  tt  milU  miri  I'un  tt  I'auirt  Stftunt, 
Et  fiuvtnt  difii  I'unt  it  I'aulri  forlunt, 
Mt/mti  didant  lis  fani  dii  goufrii  aioyani. 
Ore  il  teurni  la  I'nili,  i  la  faviur  dii  vans. 
En  uni  biuriuft  routi  i  nut  autri  communi. 
Et  li  jour  di/iri  il  vioit  dijfus  fa  hunt 
Luiri  avic  fiui  fii  rait  it  li  floti  f'aliaij/ani. 
Lit  fiott  font  lit  malint^  (/u    mifmi  aprit  fa  mort 
1.1  vouldrtiint  ajfaillir  jufqui  didant  li  fort : 
I/ancri^  c^ijt  fon  fcavoir  qui  doubli  hur  rififii  .■ 
Mait  li  maty  ijlivi  in  figni  dt  fon  now, 
EJlivira  toutjourt  dant  li  ciil  fon  rincm 
Tant  ifuil  aura  Vhonniur  qui  plut grand  il  miriti. 

By  Melin  de  Saint-Gelais  en  I'honneur 
d'Allfonfce,   1559. 


TIIK 


|1[0rtbmett  in  pauu; 


//^^ 


CRITICAL   EXAMINATION 


OK 


^        VIKWS   KXrUKSSKU   IN    CONNKCTIOX   WITU  TIIK 
ML'HJKCT,  «Y  im.  J.  n.  KOIII^, 

VOLUME  I  OK  THE  NEW  SERIES  OK  THE  MAINE 
HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

TO  WHICH   AIIE   ADDKD 

CltlTICISMS  ON  OTIIElt  PORTIONS  OP  THE  WORK, 

AND   A   CHAPTER  ON  THE 
BV  THE 

Rev.  B.  F.  DeCOSTA, 

AUTHOK  OP  THE  I'HE-COMIMBIAN  KISCOVEIIY  OP  AMERICA 
BY  THE  NOKTIIMEN,  ETC.,  ETC. 


\4JxV 


ALBANY: 
JOEL    M  U  N  S  E  L  L 
1870. 


684Z7 


/d  e  cos.7P^  ^.f- 


ti 


ti 


S( 


01 


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sj 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


The  following  papers  were  prepared  with  reference  to 
their  publication  in  one  of  the  leading  periodicals ;  but 
a  further  consideration  of  the  subject  led  to  the  opinion 
that  a  separate  presentation  would  more  effectually 
secure  the  object  which  the  author  had  in  view.  The 
papers  are,  nevertheless,  sent  forth  nearly  in  their 
original  form. 

STcyvESANT  Park. 

New  York,  September,  1809. 


I 


S( 

oi 
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fr 
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ni 
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TlIK 


NORTHMEN  IN  MAINE. 


The  new  volume  of  the  Maine  Historical 
Society,  containing  as  it  does  no  less  than 
twenty-six  ancient  maps  relating  to  the  coast 
of  America,  forms  a  valuable  companion  to 
the  student  of  history  located  at  a  distance 
from  the  large  libraries.  And  yet  the  vo- 
lume is  open  to  serious  criticism.  One 
naturally  feels  that  this  is  entering  upon 
an  unwelcome  task,  especially  as  the  author 
is  a  foreigner  and  a  distinguished  scholar. 
For  the  talents  and  attainments  of  Dr.  Kohl 
we  entertain  high  admiration,  and  yet  errors 
coming  from  such  a  source  are  doubly  inju- 
rious, and,  more  than  all  others,  demand  refu- 
tation. Indeed,  it  is  quite  evident  from  the 
distinguished  author's  laborious  efforts  to  set 


6 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN    MAINE. 


forth  the  truth  of  history  that  he  will  not 
object  to  the  essays  of  others,  even  when  the 
result  may  displace  his  own  conclusions. 

With  these  remarks,  offered  to  obviate  any 
possible  misunderstanding  of  the  writer's 
motives,  let  us  proceed  to  examine  the  work 
of  the  latter,  especially  in  its  relation  to  the 
Northmen  and  the  State  of  Maine. 

The  only   expedition   of   the    Northmen 
which  Dr.  Kohl  tries  to  connect  with  Maine 
is  that  of  the  distinguished  Icelander,  Thor- 
finn  Karlsefne.     Let  us,  therefore,  hear  what 
he  says,  keeping  in  mind  the  fact  that  Dr. 
Kohl  and  the  writer  agree  perfectly  in  re- 
gard to  the  locality  of  the  places  referred  to 
in  the  sagas,  accepting  Markland   as  Nova 
Scotia,  Kialamess  as  Cape  Cod,  and  so  on  to 
the  end.     With  this  preliminary  remark,  let 
us  hear  what  Dr.  Kohl  says.     On  page  71  of 
his  work,  he  writes  as  follows  of  the  voyage 
of  Karlsefne,  which  was  begun  in  1007,  in- 
stead of  1008: 


THE   NORTHMEN   IN   MAINE.  7 

"From  Markland  (Nova  Scotia),  they  did 
not  go  out  to  the  open  sea,  through  the  broad 
part  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine,  as  had  been  done 
on  the  former  expeditions ;  but  they  coasted 
along  a  great  way  '  to  the  south-west,  having 
the  land  always  on  their  starboard '  until  they 
at  length  came  to  Kialarness  (Cape  Cod)." 
This  is  supplemented  bj  the  remark  : 

*'  Thorfinn  and  Gudrida,  in  following  this 
track,  probably  wished  to  jfind  the  place 
where  Thorwald  had  been  buried,  and  his 
crosses  erected,  which  they  of  course  knew 
were  to  be  found  on  the  coast  toward  the 
north  of  Cape  Cod." 

Consequently,  he  arrives  at  the  conclusion 
that :  "  "We  have  here  the  first  coasting 
voyage  of  European  navigators  along  the 
shores  of  Maine." 

Now  it  must  be  observed,  first,  that  this 
alleged  voyage  involved  a  large  departure 
from  the  direct  course.  The  expeditionists 
were  sailing  to  Vinland,  Massachusetts  and 


m 


8 


THE    NORTHMEN   IN   MAINE. 


Rhode  Island,  being  in  small  vessels,  with 
live  stock  on  board,  and  everything  necessary 
to  found  a  colony.  This  being  so,  they 
would  not  deviate  from  their  course  without 
good  reason.  Dr.  Kohl  felt  this,  and  hence 
suggests  a  motive  for  the  alleged  departure. 
He,  as  already  quoted,  says  that  in  "  follow- 
ing this  track,  Thorfinn  wished  to  find  the 
place  where  Thorwald  had  been  buried." 
This  person  was  killed  four  years  previous, 
but  why  would  they  desire  to  find  the  spot  ? 
Thorfinn  had  just  been  married,  and  it  is 
not  very  likely  that  his  wife  would  desire  to 
take  him  now  on  a  pilgrimage  to  her  brother- 
in-law's  grave.  Her  first  husband  had  en- 
deavored to  bring  home  Thorwald's  body  to 
Greenland,  yet  this  expedition  did  not  pro- 
pose anything  of  the  kind. 

It  was  also  definitely  settled  that  they 
should  proceed  to  the  spot  where  Leif  had 
already  built  houses  in  Vinland.  There  was, 
therefore,  no  reason  or  propriety  in  sailing 


\n 


THE   NORTHMEN   IN   MAINE. 


9 


first  to  visit  the  grave  of  Thorvvald.  Yet 
this  is  the  only  motive  suggested.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  say  that  it  was  utterly 
insufficient. 

But  now,  for  the  sake  of  the  argument, 
supposing  Thorfiim  had  been  influenced  by 
this  motive,  is  it  likely  that  he  would  have 
taken  the  course  alleged?  Dr.  Kohl  says, 
that  "  they  of  course  knew  that  the  crosses 
marking  Thorwald's  grave,  were  to  be  found 
on  the  coast  towards  the  north  of  Cape  Cod." 
But  here  he  is  at  variance,  not  only  with 
the  sagas,  but  with  himself.  According  to 
his  own  statement,  the  fight  in  which  Thor- 
wald  was  killed,  took  place  "  near  the  harbor 
of  Boston,"  and  it  is  said  in  the  saga  that 
his  body  was  carried  back  southward  to  a 
cape  and  buried ;  to  this  Dr.  Kohl  necessarily 
assents.  This  cape,  "  Crossness,"  was  proba- 
bly Gurnet  Point,  Plymouth,  as  generally 
conceded.  At  all  events  the  burial  place 
was  south  of  Boston  and  west  of  Cape  Cod,- 


10 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN    MAINE. 


and  yet  Dr.  Kohl  tells  us  that  they  "  of 
courne,  knew  that  the  crosses  were  on  the 
coast,  towards  the  north  of  Cape  Cod,"  and 
pictures  them  sailing  along-  the  Maine 
shore,  with  their  eyes  upon  the  coast  in 
search  of  the  crosses  of  Thorwald.  This  is 
what  no  sensible  man  like  Thorfinn  Karl- 
sefne  would  be  guilty  of,  especially  when  we 
remember  Dr.  Kohl's  own  words,  where  he 
says,  "  they  no  doubt  had  some  of  Thorwald's 
former  companions  on  board."  These  people 
well  understood  that  in  order  to  reach  the 
grave  of  Thorwald  they  must  sail  direct  for 
Kialarness  ae  end  of  Cape  Cod,  and  then 
push  on  to  the  west.  Cape  Cod  was  their 
first  Jand-fall  in  seeking  Crossness  (Gurnet 
Point),  which  being  the  case,  we  have  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  they  sailed  along  the 
coast  of  Maine  searching  for  crosses  that  th^y 
h7iew  ivere  not  there. 

There  is,  therefore,  nothing  in  the  motive 
nrr/ed,  or  the  course  aUcged  to  have  been  fol- 


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TllK    NOUTIIMEN    IN    MAINE. 


11 


I  * 


lowed,  which  Iccads  to  the  belief  that,  "  we 
have  here  the  first  coasting  voyage  of  Euro- 
pean navigators  along  the  coast  of  Maine." 

But  is  there  anything  in  the  lanrjuage  of 
the  iiarmtlve  which  implies  that  on  this 
occasion  they  sailed  out  of  the  ordinary 
course  ? 

Dr.  Kohl  assumes  this  to  be  so,  yet  we 
must  examine  the  authority.  We  quote  his 
language  again :  "  They  coasted  along  a 
great  way  '  to  the  south-west,  having  tJie  land 
always  on  their  starboard,'  until  they  came 
to  Kialarness."  As  authority  for  this,  we 
have,  in  a  note,  a  Danish  translation  of  the 
original  Icelandic,  yet  neither  this  Danish 
translation,  nor  the  original,  bears  out  the 
English  of  Dr.  Kohl.     {Antiq.  Amer.,  p.  139) . 

But  we  must  note  farther,  that  he  says 
Thorfinn  sailed  south-west  a  long  way  "  until 
they  at  length  came  to  Kialarness."  Much 
is  made  to  depend  upon  the  word  "until," 
it  being  required  in  order  to  make  perfectly 


12 


TUE    NORTHMKN    IN    MAINE. 


sure  that  they  coastod  along  the  shores  of 
Maine,  and  thus  gave  us  this  "  first  voyage." 
But  "  until,"  in  the  Icelandic  is  ok.  Rafn 
in  his  Danish,  gives  o<j,  and  in  the  Latin  i% 
simply  and.  If  the  Icelandic  oh  meant 
"  until,"  we  should  require  in  the  Danish 
indtif,  and  in  the  Latin  ufqne.  But  the 
original  oJc  is  plain,  and  the  word  used, 
"  until,"  is  unwarrantable. 

It  is  said,  it  will  be  observed,  that  they 
sailed  from  Markland  (Nova  Scotia),  to  the 
south-west,  having  the  land  "  always  on  the 
starboard."  And  this  "  always "  is  needed 
in  order  lo  make  the  expedition  appear  to  be 
running  down  the  Maine  coast.  But  the 
Icelandic  simply  says  that  "  the  land  was  on 
the  right"  {La  landit  a  Stjorn),  which  is 
rendered  by  Rafn,  Terra  ah  dextro  navis 
latere  jacidt.  The  Danish  was  before  Dr. 
Kohl's  eyes  on  his  own  page,  and  to  exactly 
the  same  effect.  Hence,  where  does  he  get 
the  "  always  "  ?     It  is  simply  imagined. 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN    MAINE. 


18 


Yet  even  this  is  not  all,  for  in  Dr.  Kohl's 
account  the  several  parts  of  the  sentence 
are  put  out  of  their  right  relation.  A  fair 
translation  would  read  thus  : 

"  They  sailed  long  southward  by  the  land, 
and  came  to  a  cape ;  the  land  lay  on  the 
right."  This  is  the  order  and  punctuation 
of  the  original;  from  which  it  appears  that 
they  sailed  an  indefinite  distance  and  came 
to  a  cape;  which,  being  done,  they  found 
that  the  land  then  lay  upon  their  right. 
This,  it  will  be  perceived,  is  a  very  different 
thing  from  saying,  that  they  sailed  along  by 
the  land  to  the  cape  (Cape  Cod),  with  the 
land  always  upon  their  right.  In  the  latter 
case  they  mmt  have  followed  the  shores,  and 
therefore  coasted  along  the  shores  of  Maine, 
while  in  the  former  it  is  not  necessary. 

But,  perhaps,  it  may  be  thought  that  the 
language  after  all  fairly  bears  the  construction 
placed  upon  it,  when  properly  translated. 
We  read :  "  They  sailed  long  south  by  the 


14 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN    MAINE. 


land,  and  came  to  a  cape  ;  the  land  lay  on 
the  right."  One  might  say  that  the  land 
which  "  lay  on  the  right,"  was  a  part  of  the 
coast  that  they  sailed  by,  yet  the  grammati- 
cal construction  does  not  require  it,  while 
the  elliptical  construction  of  Icelandic  narrar 
tive  will  not  permit  it.  Before  the  words, 
"  and  came  to  a  cape,"  there  should  be  a  full 
stop.  This  would  give  the  sense  more 
clearly,  as  noiv,  things  that  we  shall  yet  see  to 
be  perfectly  distinct,  are  loosely  run  together. 
But  what  is  still  worse  for  this  interpreta- 
tion, is  the  fact  that  the  interpretation  pro- 
posed is  totaUy  unsuited  to  a  description  of 
a  voyage  from  Nova  Scotia  down  the  coast  of 
Maine  ;  for,  after  rounding  Cape  Sable,  they 
would  be  obliged  to  sail  northward,  and 
cross  the  bay  of  Fundy,  where  they  would 
lose  the  land  for  a  long  distance,  or  else  cut 
clear  of  the  land  altogether,  and  sail  west  by 
north  about  two  hundred  miles  to  the  region 
of  the  Kennebec.     The  language,  therefore, 


THE    NOUTIIMEN    IN    MAINE. 


16 


is  totally  unsuited  to  meet  the  wants  of  this 
alleged  coasting  voyage  of  Europeans  on  the 
coast  of  Maine,  as  the  map  proves. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  in  all  that  has 
gone  before  I  have  met  Dr.  Kohl  on  his  own 
ground,  and  allowed  that  when  Thorfinn 
sailed  south  to  Kialarness  (Cape  Cod),  he 
started  "from  Markland "  (Nova  Scotia). 
But  there  is  still  another  error  that  lies  at 
the  bottom  of  all  the  rest.  Dr.  Kohl  says, 
in  his  haste,  that  they  sailed  "  from  Mark- 
land,"  whereas  they  did  not  sail  from  "  Mark- 
land." 

Let  us  hear  what  the  saga  says.  After 
mentioning  the  fact  that  Thorfinn  Karlsefne'S 
expedition  first  touched  Helluland  (Labra- 
dor) ,  it  goes  on  to  say :  "  Then  they  sailed 
a  day  and  a  night  in  a  southerly  course,  and 
came  to  a  land  covered  with  woods,  in  which 
there  were  many  wild  beasts.  Beyond  this 
land  to  the  south-east  lay  an  island  on  which 
they  slew  a  bear.     They  called  the  island 


I 


16 


THE   NORTUMEN   IN   MAINE. 


Bear  Island,  and  the  land  Markland.  Thence 
they  sailed  south  long  by  the  land,  and 
came  to  a  cape ;  the  land  lay  on  the  right 
side,"  etc.     {Antiq.  Amer.,  p.  138). 

It  therefore  appears  that  the  last  place 
touched  at  was  not  Markland,  but  the  island, 
and  that  from  thence  they  sailed  southward. 
And  the  importance  of  this  correction  will 
be  evident,  when  we  see  that  the  right  inter- 
pretation of  the  whole  passage  depends  upon 
it.  In  fact,  it  gives  a  new  point  of  departure. 
Therefore,  where  was  this  island  ?  The  lo- 
cation depends  upon  the  part  of  Nova  Scotia 
upon  which  they  landed.  It  is  said  that  it 
lay  south-west  of  Markland,  and  hence  it 
must  have  been  one  of  the  many  islands, 
that  lie  along  the  coast.  And  supposing, 
as  we  reasonably  may,  that  they  touched 
first  on  or  near  the  northern  half  of  Nova 
Scotia,  we  tfien  have  a  long  coast  for  them  to 
sail  past,  after  they  left  the  outlying  island. 
It  would   not   indeed   give   them    the   land 


TJIE    NOKTIIMKX    IN    .MAINE. 


17 


"always  "on  the  right  "  iintil"  thoy  came 
to  the  cape  (Cape  Cod),  as  Dr.  Kohl  says, 
yet  we  have  already  shown  that  nothing 
like  the  equivalent  of  these  words  are 
to  be  found  in  the  original.  As  we  have 
also  observed,  the  saga  is  elliptical  in  its  style, 
and  that  the  punctuation  of  the  priitUd  Ice- 
landic text  required  a  period  before  the  words, 
"  and  came  to  a  cape."  The  simple  truth  is, 
that  they  sailed,  not  "  from  Markland,"  as 
Dr.  Kohl  so  hastily  concludes,  but  from  the 
isle  called  "  Bear  Island,"  having  the  coast 
of  Markland  (Nova  Scotia),  on  their  right 
for  a  long  way  ;  after  which  they  left  it,  and 
next  struck  the  coast  of  Cape  Cod,  leaving 
Maine  and  New  Hampshire  undiscovered  far 
on  the  right.  It  is  therefore  perfectly  clear 
that  this,  the  first  alleged  coasting  voyage 
by  Europeans  on  the  Maine  coast  never 
took  place.  Yet  lest  any  one  should  be  dis- 
posed to  raise  a  quibble,  I  will  produce 
another  testimony,  by  means  of  which  alone, 


18 


TIIK    NOHTIIMIIN    IN    MAINE. 


the  question  miglit  have  been  settled  at  the 
start;  yet  it  was  due  to  the  sulnjeet  to  vieAV  it 
IVom  every  point  of  view,  and  hence  I  have 
dehiyed  the  testimony  referred  to  until  now. 

The  distinguished  German,  in  his  discus- 
sion of  Karlsefne's  voyage,  has  based  his 
theory  upon  what  is  called  "  The  Narrative 
of  Thorfinn  Karlsefne,"  written  in  Iceland, 
and  preserved  in  the  Anut-Matjiictm  Collec- 
tion. But  fortunately  we  have  another 
version,  contained  in  the  Saga  of  Eric  the 
Red,  which  makes  still  clearer  what  the  first 
narrative  may,  to  some,  seem  to  leave  in 
doubt.  This  is  called,  "  The  Account  of 
Thorfinn."  It  was  written  in  Greenland, 
and  is  of  equal  value  with  the  other. 

In  order  to  set  the  question  in  its  final 
aspect  before  the  reader,  we  give  the  passage 
from  "  The  Account  of  Thorfinn,"  which  is 
parallel  with  that  already  examined.  After 
stating  the  departure  from  Helluland  (Nova 
Scotia),  the  language  is  as  follows  : 


THK    NdUTIIMKN    IX    MAINK. 


19 


"  They  ciuno  to  a  land  in  wliicli  tliero 
were  j^reat  woods  and  many  animaln.  South- 
oast,  opposite  the  land,  lay  an  inland.  Here 
they  found  a  boar,  and  called  the  island  Bear 
Island.  This  land  where  there  were  woods, 
they  called  Markland.  After  a  voyage  of  a 
day  and  a  night  ^  tlietj  discamred  (or  saw), 
land,  and  the}'  sailed  near  the  land,  and  saw 
that  it  was  a  cape.  They  kept  close  to  the 
shore  with  the  wind  on  the  right  (starboard) 
side,  and  left  (or  had)  the  land  upon  the  right 
side  of  the  ship." 

Now  by  a  careful  comparison  it  will  be 
seen  that  this  version  harmonizes  com- 
pletely with  the  first,  and  at  the  same  time" 
shows,  with  greater  distinctness,  that  they 
left  the  land  at  Nova  Scotia,  after  sailing  by 
it  some  time,  and  saw  the  land  again  first 
at  Cape  Cod.  Thus  this  alleged  voyage 
disappears. 


'  The  long  day  is  here  meaut. 


20 


THE    NORTHMEN   IN    MAINE. 


We  finally  have  to  notice  what  Dr.  Kohl 
has  to  say  about  Thorhall,  who  was  in  the 
expedition  of  Karlsefne,  and  who  left  the 
latter  at  the  Rhode  Island  settlement  to  go 
around  Cape  Cod.  Dr.  Kohl  falls  into  error 
at  the  outset,  saying  that  "  Thorfinn  had 
sent  to  the  north  from  Straumfiord  (Buz- 
zard's Bay),  his  man,  Thorhall  the  Hunter." 
The  truth  is,  however,  that  we  have  no  in- 
timation of  Thorhall  being  "  sent."  On  the 
contrary,  this  episode  appears  to  have  been 
against  the  wishes  of  Thorfinn. 

In  summing  up  the  result  of  Thorhall's 
voyage.  Dr.  Kohl  is  equally  unfortunate,  and 
says,  that  he  made  his  exploring  expedition 
"  to  the  northern  parts  of  Vinland  (coast  of 
Maine)."  But  the  narrative  simply  s\ys  (in 
two  versions),  that  Tiiorhall  "sjiiled  north 
to  go  around  Wonder  Strand  and  Kialarness 
[Cape  Cod],  but  when  he  wished  to  sail 
westward  [towards  Plymouth,  Mass.],  they 
were    met   by   a   storm   and    driven   back." 


t.1 


THE   NOUTUMKN    IN    MAINE. 


21 


Thus  he  did  not  even  weather  Race  Point, 
Provincetown,  and  yet  we  are  told  that  he 
made  an  expedition  to  the  "  coast  of  Maine," 
(p.  80). 

Afterwards,  when  Thorhall  did  not  return, 
having  been  forced  to  run  for  the  coast  of 
Ireland,  Thorfinn  went  in  search  of  him. 
This  voyage  northward,  from  Rhode  Island, 
Dr.  Kohl  also,  unluckily,  turns  into  an  expe- 
dition to  Maine,  though  he  does  not  say  how 
far  they  went,  only  remarking  that  it  "  might 
have  been  somewhere  in  the  inner  parts  of 
the  gulf  of  Maine." 

Nevertheless  we  very  well  know  that 
Thorfinn  did  not  go  near  Maine,  nor  even 
far  north  of  Boston.  The  saga  says  that  he 
"  sailed  northward  [from  Rhode  Island], 
past  Kialarness,  and  then  westward  [to  Ply- 
mouth shore],  and  the  land  was  upon  their 
larboard  (left)  side."  They  finally  reached 
a  river,  where  they  anchored,  and  then  went 
northward  again.     Dr.  Kohl  says  we  do  not 


22 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN    MAINE. 


know  how  Lnv,  but  that  the  point  reached 
might  have  lieen  "  somewhere  in  the  imier 
parts  of  the  Gulf  of  Maine  "  (p.  7G).  Never- 
theless his  own  quotation  from  the  saga  inti- 
mates, on  the  contrary,  that  they  know  how 
far  north  they  went,  saying,  "  all  these  tracts 
to  the  north  wore  continuous  with  those  in 
the  south,  and  that  it  was  all  one  and  the 
same  country." 

Now  this  extract  shows  that  there  was 
something  in  the  physical  character  of  the 
country  which  enabled  the  Northmen  to  f  r- 
ceive  its  identity  with  the  country  of  Maine. 
Yet,  supposing  with  Dr.  Kohl  they  had 
reached  the  coast  of  Maine,  which  lies  on  the 
"  inner  part "  of  the  "  gulf,"  what  is  there  to 
be  seen  by  which  they  could  infer  that  it 
was  "all  one  and  the  same  country  "  with  that 
"  at  Hop  "  ?  Evidently,  nothing  ;  and,  there- 
fore, the  inference  of  Karlsefne,  if  made  on 
the  Maine  coast,  would  have  had  no  force. 
And  yet  there  was  something  in  the  physical 


f'  I 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN    MAINE. 


23 


character  of  the  country  between  that  and 
the  pLico  where  the}^  were,  which,  like  a 
thread  running  through  a  piece  of  French 
print,  being  now  the  eye  of  a  beast,  and  now 
the  petal  of  a  rose,  was  easily  recognized. 
What  therefore  teas  this  feature  V  This  was 
nothing  less  than  a  mountain  rmuje,  which  is 
not  hinted  at  in  Dr.  Kohl's  glaringly  false 
translation  above  given.  A  true  translation 
would  run  :  "  They  considered  the  mountain 
rautje  that  was  at  Hop,  and  that  which  they 
now  found  as  all  one."  The  Icelandic  word 
translated  "  tracts"  by  Dr.  Kohl  is  FJoU,  the 
equivalent  of  which  in  Danish  is  Fjeld- 
strteknlng,  or  mountain  range,  inadequately 
expressed  in  the  Latin  monies.  Therefore,  in 
order  to  learn  how  far  they  went,  we 
have  only  to  ascertain  how  far  the  range 
beginning  at  Mount  Hope  bay  (Hop),  ex- 
tends northward.  Any  good  county  map 
settles  this  (question,  and  reveals  the  fact 
that  the  range  ends  in  the  Milton  Blue  hills, 


24 


THE   NORTHMEN    IN    MAINE. 


seen  from  the  vicinity  of  Boston  Ilarljor,  and 
mentioned  in  Blunt's  Coiwt  Pilot.     Therefore 
ilie  northward  limit  of  this  voyage  must  he  fixed 
in  the  latitude  of  Boston.  Antiq.  Amer.,  p.  xxxv. 
That    Thorfinn    and   his   men    were    tho- 
roughly qualified  to  give  an  opinion,  appears 
from  the  fact  that  the  summer  before,  they 
had  "decided  to  explore  all  the  mountains 
in    Hop ;    which   done,"    the  saga  continues, 
"  they  went  and  passed  the  third  winter  in 
Straumfiord  "   (Buzzard's  bay) .      They  also 
state  in  connection  with  the  fact  that  the 
range  seen  was  "  all  one  "  with  that  at  Hop, 
that  it  also  "  appeared  to  be  of  equal  length 
from    Straumfiord  to  both  places,"    a  judg- 
ment also  seen  to  be  tolerably  correct,  from 
Rafn's  map,  which  makes  the  three  points 
mentioned  nearly  the  points  of  a  triangle. 
The  narrative  it  therefore  perfectly  consistent 
and  clear.     The  river  that  they  entered  was 
probably  near    Scituate    harbor,   and   when 
they   drew    northward    to    the    vicinity   of 


THE   NORTHMEN    IN   MAINE. 


25 


Boston,  Blue  Hill  range  plainly  appeared, 
and  was  easily  recognized  as  a  part  of  the 
mountain  range  that  they  had  already  ex- 
plored by  land  from  the  south. 

Thus,  by  a  legitimate  rendering  of  the 
language  of  the  sagas,  the  alleged  voyages  of 
the  Northmen  upon  and  to  the  coast  of 
Maine  in  the  eleventh  century  totally  disap- 
pear. If  they  made  any  voyages  at  a  later 
period,  which  is  not  impossible,  they  left  no 
record  of  the  fact,  and  the  "  first  Europeans  " 
who  coasted  those  shores,  must  be  looked  for 
elsewhere  than  among  the  Northmen. 

In  conclusion  we  have  to  notice  several 
points  not  immediately  connected  with  Maine, 
which  nevertheless  serve  to  how  how  hastily 
the  whole  subject  was  disposed  of. 

Dr.  Kohl  says  (p.  77),  "  It  is  not  quite 
clear,  but  it  appears  to  me  probable,^  that  a 


1  Elsewhere  (p.  4*78),  he  says,  "Their  colonies  in 
America,  first  in  Vinland  and  Markland,  then  in  (Jreen- 
land,  declined." 


26 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN    MAINE. 


'I  I  i 


party  of  his  [Karlsefne's]  men  remained  be- 
hind and  continued  the  settlement."  For 
this  statement  there  is  no  authority  what- 
ever. When  the  second  summer  of  his  sojourn 
in  Vinhind  came,  Karlsefne  decided  to 
abandon  the  undertaking.  The  following 
year  the  whole  party  left.  {Antiquitates  Ameri- 
cana', p.  150).  The  statements  all  agree  to 
this  effect,  and  we  have  information  in  re- 
gard to  the  departure  of  each  of  the  three 
ships.  Moreover,  when  Freydis  fitted  out 
her  expedition,  which  took  place  on  the  year 
of  Karlsefne's  return,  she  stipulated  with 
Leif  that  she  should  have  the  use  of  the 
empty  houses  in  Vinland  which  he  had 
built.  On  the  arrival  of  Freydis  she  took 
possession,  and  the  whole  account  gives  ad- 
ditional proof  that  Karlsefne  left  none  of  his 
party  behind. 

A^ain,  Dr.  Kohl  says  (p.  83),  "  This  priest 
[Bishop  Eric],  is  said  to  have  sailed  to  Vin- 
land for  missionary  purposes."    But  by  wlumi 


THE    NORTHMEN    IN    MAINE, 


27 


is  he  "  said  "  to  have  sailed  for  this  purpose  ? 
All  that  we  have  about  this  voyage  is  the 
simple  statement,  that,  in  the  year  1121, 
Bishop  Eric  went  to  "  search  "  for  or  "  seek 
out,"  Vinland  [Aitflqnifates  Amerlcaiiai,  p. 
2G1).  From  this  statement  it  has  been  un- 
fortunately argued  that  a  settlement  existed  in 
New  England  at  the  time,  and  that  Eric  went 
to  superintend  ecclesiastical  affairs.  With  this 
fancy  as  a  foundation,  Prof.  Rafn,  in  his 
early  enthusiasm,  connected  the  Newport 
Mill  with  the  ancient  colonists,  and  indulged 
in  the  belief  that  the  structure  in  question 
was  a  baptistery.  (See  Supplement  to  Antlquir- 
tatm  Americanai) .  This  was  only  a  fancy, 
as  the  language  of  the  statement  implies  that 
the  knovyledge  of  V^inland  was  lost. 

Again  it  said  (page  78),  that  "  Freydisa  and 
her  companions  got  into  trouble  and  disa- 
greement, probably  about  the  profits  of  the 
undertaking.  They  came  to  arms,  and  the 
two   brothers,    Ilelge    and    Finnboa;e,   were 


'tD^J 


28 


THE    N()IiTlIMP:N    JN    MAlNK. 


slain  in  a  figlit."  TJut  hero  again  Dr.  Kohl 
shows  only  a  portion  of  the  truth.  There  is 
not  the  slightest  grounds  for  the  supposition 
that  they  quarreled  about  the  "  profits." 
The  ill  feeling  began  by  Freydis'  violation 
of  the  compact  that  the  ships  should  carry  an 
equal  number  of  men.  Again,  on  reaching 
Vinland  there  was  a  quarrel  about  the  pos- 
session of  the  houses,  Freydis  claiming  their 
exclusive  use.  Then,  when  winter  came, 
they  quarreled  in  the  midst  of  their  games, 
which  were  abandoned.  Eventually  she 
complained  to  her  husband  that  Fir^boge 
and  Ilelge  had  struck  and  abused  her.  Ac- 
cordingly Thorwald,  her  husband,  went  with 
his  men  early  one  morning  to  the  huts  of  the 
two  brothers,  seized  them  and  their  jompany 
in  their  beds,  bound  them  and  led  them  out 
and  murdered  them.  The  women  of  Finn- 
boge's  party  were  slain  by  Freydis  herself, 
as  the  humanity  of  her  followers  would  not 
permit  them  to  go  farther  in  this  horrible 


!>i 


THE    NOllTIIMEN    IN    MAINE. 


29 


butchery.  Freydis  returned  and  reported  the 
brotlicrs  and  their  company  lost,  and  thus 
possessed  herself  of  property  that  was  not 
rightfully  hers  (see  Pre-Columbian  Discovery, 
pp.  77-80,  and   Aiitiquitates  Americana;,  pp. 

05-72). 

After  failing  thus  on  points  where  there 
is  such  abundant  testimony,  it  is  easy  to 
understand  how  he  would  have  obtained  a 
wrong  impression  on  points  that  are  some- 
what critical. 


I 


THE  CHART  OF  THE  ZEXO  BROTHERS. 


While  there  is  much  in  the  work  of  Dr. 
Kohl  that  justifies  criticism,  it  is  iievortheless 
gratifying  to  find  him  conceding  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  chart  drawn  up  by  Nicolo  and 
Antonio  Zeno,  prior  to  the  year  1400.  Yet 
something  must  be  said  in  this  connection, 
though  the  discussion  does  not  tend  directly 
upon  the  history  of  Maine. 

First  we  have  to  regret  that  in  transcribing 
this  chart,  Dr.  Kohl  has  failed  to  give  the 
best  representation  possible.  No  less  than 
one-half  of  the  Greenland  names  have  been 
dropped  altogether,  though  these  are  names 
that  inevitably  come  under  discussion  when 
the  question  of  authenticity  arrives  at  ^he 
crucial   point.      Concerning   those    actually 


CHART   OF    THE    ZENO    HROTIIERS. 


31 


left,  lie  ssiys  nothing,  and  refers  to  the  dis- 
tinfjuished  Polish  geographer,  L^lewel,  for 
all  the  needed  information.  He  does  this, 
after  going  over  the  other  portions  of  the 
chart,  explaining  the  names,  and  demonstrat- 
ing their  alleged  antiquity.  He  tells  us  that 
the  Greenland  names  are  of  less  interest  for 
his  purpose,  but  what  was  the  purpose  of 
the  discussion  ?  Manifestly  it  was  either  to 
illustrate  the  history  of  Maine,  or  to  prove 
the  authenticity  of  the  chart.  If  the  former, 
then  the  Greenland  names  were  equally  per- 
tinent with  the  others ;  while  if  it  was  the 
latter,  the  discussion  of  the  Greenland  names 
were  far  more  so.  This,  it  is  believed,  can 
be  fully  demonstrated,  yet  Dr.  Kohl  takes 
leave  of  the  subject  at  this  point  and  refers  to 
Lelewel.  Turning,  therefore,  to  the  eminent 
Polish  writer,  what  do  we  find  ?  Nothing  less 
than  this,  that  he  has  really  obscured  the 
subject,  with  which  he  does  not  grapple,  not 
having  made  it  a  study. 


32 


CHART    OF    THE    ZENO    BROTHERS. 


The  names  given  by  the  Zeni  in  connection 
with  other  portions  of  the  map  are  names 
that  probably  could  not  have  been  obtained 
in  1558  (when  the  map  was  printed),  by  a 
person  engaged  in  a  fabrication  ;  but  those 
names  connected  with  the  Greenland  coast 
are  names  that  were  less  likely  to  have  been 
obtained.     Hence  the  peculiar  interest. 

Again,  at  the  late  period  refi^rred  to,  it 
was  impossible  to  rightly  apply  the  names  in 
question.  We  find  that  Greenland  was  first 
settled  by  Icelandic  colonists  in  the  year  985, 
and  that  the  settlements  continued  for  over 
three  hundred  years,  when  they  died  out, 
and  the  knowledge  of  Greenland  was  practi- 
cally lost.  The  location  of  the  settlements 
even  became  a  matter  of  doubt.  Hence  we 
find  TorfoBUS  in  his  work  on  Old  Green- 
land, placing  nearly  all  the  towns  and 
villages  on  the  east  coast.  In  so  doing  he 
acted  upon  what  he  and  all  his  colaborers 
mistook  for  the  meaning  of  Bttrdsens  Ckrotii- 


m 


CHART    OF    TlIK    ZENO    UltOTHEHS. 


33 


dc,  wliich  ;^ivos  the  best  account  of  the 
ancient  colonies  now  extant.  Torfiuus  pub- 
lished his  work  in  1715,  and  was  followed 
by  map-makers  down  to  a  comparatively 
recent  period.  Indeed,  it  was  no  later  than 
the  year  1828  that  the  Danish  government 
sent  out  an  expedition  to  Greenland  under 
Captain  Graah,^  to  settle  the  question  con- 
cerning the  former  existence  of  a  colony 
on  the  east  coast.  J  lis  researches  had  the 
effect  of  banishing  the  last  ray  of  hope  that 
might  h.we  been  entertained.  Wormskiold 
was  the  latest  Scandinavian  scholar  who 
seriously  advocated  the  view  that  the  East 
Bygd  lay  on  the  east  coast,  where  he  thought 
a  remnant  of  the  colony  might  still  exist, 
shut  in  by  the  ice.  But  when  the  Society 
of  Northern  Antiquarians,  profiting  by  ex- 
plorations in  Greenland,  set  out  upon  their 


'  For  convenience  sake,  the  author  would  refer  to  the 
discussion  of  the  subject  in  his  work  on  J^ie- Columbian 
Discoviri/. 

5 


34 


CHART  or  THE  zeno  bhothers. 


great  work,  the  modem  maps  were  revised 
and  both  the  districts  were  placed  on  the 
west  side,  according  to  Bardsen,  a  relative 
distinction  of  east  and  west  only  being  main- 
tained, as  will  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  their 
maps  published  in  18o7.  And  this  consti- 
tuted nothing  less  than  a  most  drihiiKj 
confession  of  the  truth  of  the  Zeii.i  chart,  which 
locates  the  settlements  on  the  west  side. 
Theodore  Thorlacius^  (16G8),  innocently  mu- 
tilated the  Greenland  section,  which  was 
drawn  with  a  degree  of  correctness  that 
would  alone  go  far  to  vindicate  the  antiquity 
of  the  work,  while  Mercator  and  Ortelius 
in   constructing   their  maps  took  an  equal 


1  See  Torfieus's  Gronlavdia  Antujua,  Havniae,  1715, 
where  also  may  be  seen  the  map  of  Stephanius  (1570), 
and  that  of  Bishop  Gudbrand  Torlacius  (IGOG).  Those 
men,  like  the  rest,  misunderstood  the  chronicle  of  Ivar 
Bardsen,  owing  to  the  almost  complete  extinction  of  geo- 
graphical knowledge  relating  to  Greenland.  The  /eni, 
however,  were  familiar  with  those  regions,  as  their  chart 
proves. 


CHART   OF    THE    ZENO   imOTlIERS. 


35 


amount  of  liberty  with  other  portions.  Yet 
in  the  end  these  mutilations  were  wholly 
rejected. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  Zeni  knew 
where  the  colonies  lay,  and,  notwithstanding 
a  partial  confusion  of  names,  which  the 
ravages  of  time  increased  on  the  original  map, 
the  fact  is  clearly  demonstrable. 

It  would  have  been  a  strong  point  gained, 
if  this  map  had  simply  shown  that  the  Ice- 
landic colonies  of  Greenland  were  not  on  the 
east  side.  But,  in  addition  to  this,  it  proves 
that  they  were  on  the  west}  This  is  clearly 
seen  from  the  fact  that  of  all  the  names  put 
on  the  east  side  we  cannot  recognize  one  tliaV 


I  Still  the  light  on  this  point  travels  slowly.  The 
American  Antiquarian  Society,  in  18G0,  published  the 
following :  "  Intercourse  with  that  part  of  Greenland 
which  was  colonized  by  the  Danes,  has  been  prevented 
by  ice  since  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,"  (vol. 
IV,  p.  269,  N.  2).  The  part  alluded  to  is  the  east  coast. 
The  Danes,  of  course,  had  nothing  to  do  with  colonizing 
any  part  of  (Jreenland. 


36 


CHART   OF   THE   ZENO   BROTHERS. 


anciently  belonged  to  the  irest  side.  Lelewel, 
in  his  invaluable  work,  Geographie  du  Moyen 
age  [torn,  iii,  p.  98),  indeed  confounds  two 
names  that  appear  on  the  east  coast  with 
names  that  belong  to  the  west.  Yet  who- 
ever consults  that  part  of  his  examination 
of  the  Zeni  map  will  perceive  that  he  did  not 
appreciate  the  interest  that  really  clusters 
around  the  Greenland  names,  and  failed  to 
give  ther .  the  attention  that  they  deserved. 
His  remarks  on  the  Greenland  names  are 
barren  of  interest.  He  seeks  chiefly  to  give 
the  equivalent  of  Zeno's  names  in  modern 
terms,  and  in  so  doing  falls  into  a  most  pal- 
pable error.  Two  names  on  the  east  are 
Jl.  [fiumum)  Lande,  and  jy)\  [promontory) 
Hien,  one  of  which  he  makes  identical  with 
Einersfiord,  and  the  other  with  Heriulfsness, 
while  both  of  those  places  were  located  on  the 
west  coast.  Why,  then,  did  he  make  this 
interpretation  ?  Certainly  there  was  notliing 
in  the  names  themselves  to  authorize  it.     It 


CHART   OF    THE   ZENO    BROTHERS. 


37 


was,  therefore,  simply  a  mistake,  into  which 
he  fell,  when  giving,  in  a  separate  column, 
certain  modern  names  whose  places  generally 
correspond  with  those  of  the  chart.^ 

It  is  not  proposed  in  this  connection  to 
examine  the  names  placed  by  the  Zeni  on  the 
west  coast.  In  order  to  explain  all  of  them 
it  would  be  necessary  to  have  access  to  the 
manuscripts  containing  the  various  versions 
of  Bardsen's  relation  ;  and  even  then  the 
effort  would  not  be  wholly  crowned  with 
success,  since  in  many  cases  the  names  have 
been  so  corrupted.  All  that  is  now  required 
is  to  show  that  the  Zeni  located  the  colonies 
on  the  west  coast.     This,  after  the  correction 


I  There  is  another  name  put  by  the  Zeni  on  the  east 
coast,  2^>'-  Munder,  which  Lelewel  defines  as  Lodmund,  the 
name  of  a  fiord  on  the  west  coast.  Yet  the  same  name 
WJis  often  given  to  several  things  as  well  as  places.  But 
it  must  be  remembered  there  was  only  one  Ericsfiord  and 
one  Ileviulfsness.  As  Lelewell  remarks,  Brattahlid  and 
Garda,  very  prominent  places,  do  not  appear  on  the  map  ; 
yet  other  names  just  as  useful  for  our  purpose  do  appear. 


■  g 


38        [chart  of  the  zeno  hhotiieks. 


of  Lelewel's  mistake,  is  easily  done,  as  will 
appear  from  a  mere  glance.  We  see,  among 
other  things,  that  they  understood  what  has 
required  so  much  modern  study  to  elucidate, 
namely :  that  in  sailing  to  Greenland,  the 
Icelander  passed  two  Huarfs,^  or  turning 
points,  one  being  at  Cape  Farewell  and  the 
other  some  distance  up  the  east  coast ;  while 
the  names  of  places,  as  given  by  Bardsen,  are 
recognized,  Eleste,  for  instance,  among  others, 
a  name  that  has  needlessly  been  deemed 
obscure,  but  which  is  nevertheless  the  rem- 
nant of  "  Henlestate."  ^ 

Everything,  therefore,  points  indisputably 
to  the  antiquity  of  the  Zeni  Chart ;  for  we 
must  remember  again,  that  in  1558,  when  the 
chart  was  published,  the  ancient  geography 


1  By  referring  to  Zurhi's  copy  of  the  map,  tliis  will  be 
more  apparent,  as  Lelewel  in  copying  the  two  names 
gets  them  misspelled.  Zurla  was,  manifestly,  the  more 
careful  in  handling  these  two  names. 

-Sec  Sailini/  Directions  of  Ilawy  llmhon,  p.  70. 


ClIAKT   OF    THE    ZENO   I5R0TIIE11S. 


89 


of  GreenLaiid  had  reached  the  period  of 
deepest  obscuration,  a  period  that  cast  its 
shadow  forward  into  the  next  century,  when, 
in  16C8,  Theodore  Tliorlacius  drew  up  the 
worst  chart  of  Greenland  ever  offered  to  the 
pu))lic.  At  no  time  between  1500  and  1675, 
does  it  appear  to  have  been  suspected  by  Ice- 
landic geographers  that  settlements  ever  ex- 
isted on  Greenland's  western  coast.  Hence, 
on  the  charts  we  find  them  laying  down 
localities  on  the  east  coast  that  actually 
belonged  to  the  region  of  Lancaster  sound  ! 
Fortunately,  ere  this  period  of  darkness  set 
in,  and  while  voyages  were  often  made  from 
the  northern  parts  of  Europe  to  Greenland,- 
the  Zeni  brothers  improved  the  opportunities 
afforded  by  their  journeys  to  put  upon  parch- 
ment those  leading  facts  which  lend  to  their  • 
testimony  the  seal  of  truth,^  and  which  en- 


'  It  will  of  course  be  understood  that  tlie  writer  does 
not  by  any  means  accept  everything  stated  in  the  tiarrd- 
tu'cs  of  the    Zeni,    which    both    illustrate    and  obscure 


40 


CHART   OF   THE    ZENO   BROTHERS. 


title  them  to  rank  among  tlie  Pre-Columbian 
Explorers  of  America. 

Of  the  value  of  this  map,  in  its  connection 
with  Maine,  little  needs  to  be  said.  In  his 
copy,  Dr.  Kohl  has  colored  Drogeo,  which  in 
one  place  (p.  105),  he  suggests  as  covering 
New  England,  while  in  another  (p.  478),  he 
says,  "'  Maine  is  put  down  under  the  name 
of  Drogeo."  A  note  (p.  lOG),  also  says  that 
in  Lelewel's  copy,  Drogeo  occupies  exactly 
the  locality  of  the  territory  of  Maine,  which 
seems  to  imply  that  the  masses  of  land 
were  differently  grouped  on  the  map  of  the 
Polish  geographer.  This  is  not  the  case.  In 
all  the  copies  that  have  come  under  the 
author's  notice,  Drogeo  is  represented  on  58° 
and  59°  north.     The  lines  of  latitude,  how- 


their  chart.  Like  all  siiiiihir  relations,  they  will  justify 
a  careful  sifting.  The  contrast  between  the  chart  and 
the  narratives  is  most  notable.  The  former  contains  but 
a  single  ftilse  feature  in  its  Greenland  section,  namely : 
the  monastery  of  St.  Thomas,  placed  on  the  coast  to  the 
north  of  Icelaad. 


CHART  OF  THE  ZENO  BROTHERS. 


41 


ever,  are  of  no  authority.  Remembering  this, 
still  Drogeo  is  always  put  in  the  above  lati- 
tude, which  is  ten  degrees  north  of  the  ex- 
treme limit  of  the  territory  of  Maine.^  The 
map,  therefore,  has  no  interest  in  connection 
with  Maine,  as  might  be  said  of  the  two  follow- 
ing Icelandic  maps  of  the  volume.  And  it 
may  well  be  observed  in  this  connection,  that 
it  would  be  difficult  to  say  when  the  territory 
of  Maine  first  clearly  emerges  in  the  old 
cartology.  It  has  already  been  suggested  by 
one  critic,'^  that  Cosa's  map  of  1500  indicates 
the  coast  of  Asia  instead  of  Maine,  as  sup- 
posed by  Dr.  Kohl.  Thorne,  in  his  letter  to 
Henry  VIII,  urges  the  same  view  with  regard' 
to  that  region,  which  he  claimed  as  the  India 
possessions  of  the  British  crown.     (See  Hak- 


I 
I 


1  Henry  Stevens,  G.  M.  U.,  F.  S.  A.,  etc.,  in  "  Historical 
and  Geographical  Notes,  1453-1869,"  p.  19,  n. 

2  Perhaps,  it  will  be  said,  that  the  unrepresented  part 
was  in  the  locality  of  Maine,  yet  the  unknown  is  some- 
thing that  we  cannot  speculate  about. 

G 


42 


CHART   OF   THE   ZENO   BROTHERS. 


luyt,  vol.  I,  p.  213,  ed.  1598).  If  Dr.  Kohl 
is  right  in  his  supposed  discovery  of  Cape 
Cod  on  Cosa's  map,  he  is  also  right  with 
reference  to  Maine ;  yet  the  island  which  he 
identifies  with  Nantucket  is  on  the  wrong  side 
of  the  cape,  which  in  the  eleventh  century 
doubtless  had  a  small  outlying  island  toward 
the  east,  as  indicated  by  Saga  of  Karlsefne, 
and  proved  by  more  recent  history,  in  con- 
nection with  geological  surveys.^  Yet  it  is 
not  worth  while  to  appear  fanciful,  as  we 
require  truth  on  the  chart  as  well  as  on  the 
written  page.  The  map  of  the  Zeni,  how- 
ever, is  authenticated,  which  would  seem 
enough,  without  applying  it  to  Maine. 


I  See  Pre- Columbian  Discovery,  p.  26,  n.  The  shores 
and  banks  of  Georges  are  probably  dead  islands  that  once 
lifted  themselves  above  the  sea. 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  JOHN  RUT. 


:  !• 


In  the  year  1527,  an  English  expedition, 
composed  of  two  ships,  the  Sampson  and  the 
Mary  of  Guilford,  was  sent  into  American 
waters.  In  the  course  of  the  voyage,  it  is 
asserted  by  Dr.  Kohl,  John  Rut,  the  master 
of  the  Mary  of  Guilford,  visited  the  shores  of 
Maine ;  and  he  tells  us  that  in  the  account  of 
Hakluyt  (vol.  iii,  p.  129,  ed.  1600),  we  have 
"information  of  the  first  instance  in  which 
Englishmen  are  certainly  known  to  have  pxit 
their  feet  on  these  shores." 

But  upon  what  is  this  claim  based  ?  Quot- 
ing from  Hakluyt,  he  says  that  the  Mary  of 
Guilford  "returned  by  the  coasts  of  New 
Foundland,  Cape  Breton  and  Norumbega," 
often   "entering  the  ports  of  those  regions, 


44 


THE   VOYAGE   OF   JOHN   RUT. 


landing  men,  and  examining  into  the  condi- 
tion of  the  country"  {Dr.  Kohl,  p.  283). 

Now  the  oldest  reference  to  Norumbega  is 
found  in  the  work  of  Peter  Martyr  {Dec.  vii, 
c.  11),  which  appeared  about  1511.  It  is 
next  mentioned  in  a  "  Discourse  of  a  great 
French  sea-captain  of  Dieppe,  on  the  naviga- 
tions made  to  the  West  Indies,  called  New 
France,  from  the  40°  to  the  47°  N.,"  given 
in  Ramusio  (vol.  iii,  p.  423).  This  discourse 
has  been  attributed  to  Pierre  Crignon,  the 
poet,  and  seems  to  belong  to  the  year  1539, 
from  the  fact  that  the  writer  says  that  fifteen 
years  had  then  elapsed  since  Verazzano  made 
his  voyage.  He  tells  us  that  the  country 
from  Cape  Breton  to  Florida  is  called  by  the 
inhabitants  Norumbega. 

But,  though  the  application  of  the  name 
was  thus  extensive,  it  never  figured  largely 
upon  the  maps.  The  name  appears  to  have 
come  in  northward  from  the  St.  Lawrence. 
Hence,  in  1556,  the  pilots  told  The  vet  that 


THE    VOVACE   OF    JOHN   KUT. 


45 


Norurabega  was  the  "proper  country  of 
Canada"  {Cosmof/raphie  UniverscUc,  1004). 
And  we  must  not  fail  to  notice  the  fact  that 
the  very  map  that  Crignon's  account  was 
intended  to  illustrate  [Gcistaldis,  1550),  re- 
stricts the  country  of  Norumbega  to  Nova 
Scotia.  Nevertheless  it  is  conceded  that  the 
maps  do  not  tell  the  whole  story  of  .Norum- 
bega, which  was  taken  to  include  the  country 
from  Cape  Breton  to  Florida.  By  degrees, 
the  application  of  the  term  was  narrowed, 
until  it  came  to  signify  a  fabulous  city  on 
Penobscot  river,  in  Maine.  Yet  what  was 
the  meaning  of  the  term  when  Hakluyt 
wrote  ?  This  is  easily  ascertained.  Dr.  Kohl 
himself  admits  the  fatal  truth,  that  in  Hak- 
luyt's  day  all  New  England  was  included  in 
Norumbega.  But  more  than  this.  Turning 
to  the  account  of  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert's 
expedition,  we  find  one  of  the  members  speak- 
ing of  it  as  put  on  foot  for  "  the  discovery  of 
Norumbega."     And  yet  the  plan  of  the  voy- 


46 


THE  VOYAGE   OF  JOHN    KUT. 


age  aimed  at  a  thorough  exploration  of  the 
territory  from  Newfoundland  to  Florida. 
This  shows  that  in  1583,  Norumbega  still 
had  a  very  wide  application,  while  it  is 
equally  certain  that  Nova  Scotia  was  alwayH 
included  at  the  time  Ilakluyt  wrote.  (See 
Hakhnji^  vol.  in,  p.  163 ;  also  title  page  of 
same  volume).  It  will  therefore,  be  seen, 
when  Dr.  Kohl  quotes  Ilakluyt  as  saying 
Rut  returned  to  England  "by  the  coasts" 
of  Norumbega,  that  he  proves  nothing,  for 
we  do  not  hnow  viliat  part  of  Nornmbcf/a  he 
landed  upon.  Taking  the  term  applied  to 
New  England  in  general,  as  Dr.  Kohl  admits 
it  was  used,  there  is  still  no  certainty  what- 
ever that  Rut  landed  in  Maine.  His  own 
admission,  therefore,  in  regard  to  the  extent 
of  Norumbega  alone  crushes  his  argument. 

But  the  case  becomes  still  more  clear  when 
we  remember  what  was  before  stated,  that 
in  Ilakluyt's  day  the  coast  north  as  well  as 
south  of  New  England  was  still  called  Nor- 


THE    VOVAGE    OF   JOHN   RUT. 


47 


uinbega,  which  being  the  case,  it  is  even  still 
less  reasonable  to  say  that  Kut  visited  Maine, 
because  he  touched  at  Norumbega.  We 
could  as  well  argue  that  a  tourist  must  have 
"certainly"  visited  Maine  because  he  re- 
turned to  Europe  "by  the  coasts"  of  the 
United  States. 

We  might  reasonably  rest  the  argument 
here,  but  it  is  our  duty  to  disabuse  the 
reader's  mind  in  regard  to  the  correctness  of 
Dr.  Kohl's  quotation,  where  he  says  that  the 
Mary  of  Guilford  "  returned  by  the  coasts  of 
New  Foundland,  Cape  Breton  and  Norum- 
bega." This  is  not  what  Hakluyt  says. 
Indeed,  one  feels  considerable  surprise  after 
comparing  the  alleged  language  with  that 
actually  employed.  Hakluyt  does  not  say 
that  they  "  returned  by,"  but  that  they 
shaped  their  course  "  towards  "  the  places  in 
question.  The  writer  has  examined  all  the 
editions  of  Hakluyt,  and  the  language  is 
everywhere  the  same,  with  the  exception  that 


48 


THE  VOYAGE   OF  JOHN   RUT. 


the  first  edition  (1589),  has  "Arembec," 
which  is  the  equivalent  of  Norumbega,  Hak- 
luyt  simply  says  that  after  parting  from  the 
Sampson,  the  Mary  of  Guilford  "  shaped  her 
course  towards  Cape  Breton  and  the  coasts 
of  Arembec." 

The  full  account  stands  as  follows  :  "  Sail- 
ing very  far  northwestward,  one  of  the  ships 
was  cast  away  as  it  entered  into  a  dangerous 
gulf,  about  the  great  opening  between  the 
north  parts  of  New  Foundland,  and  the 
country  lately  called  by  her  majesty,  Meta 
Incognita.  Whereupon  the  other  ship  [Rut's] 
shaping  her  course  towards  Cape  Breton  and 
the  coast  of  Arembec,  and  often  times  put- 
ting their  men  on  land  to  search  the  state  of 
those  unknown  regions." 

From  this  it  is  clear  that  Dr.  Kohl's  quota- 
tion is  incorrect,  and  also,  that  it  is  extremely 
doubtful  whether  Rut,  after  all,  did  more 
than  to  sail  "  towards "  some  part  of  the 
country  of  Arembec,  or  Norumbega.      We 


ill  1 


THE   VOYAGE   OF   JOHN   RUT. 


49 


might  at  first,  indeed,  take  it  for  granted  tliat 
the  phrase  "  unknown  regions,"  referred  to 
the  shores  of  Arembec  ;  yet  when  the  whole 
account  is  more  carefully  considered,  espe- 
ciall}'  in  the  light  of  Purchas's  relation,  not 
yet  quoted,  we  incline  to  the  belief  that  by 
those  unknown  regions  is  meant  the  unfre- 
quented parts  of  Newfoundland  adjoining 
Meta  Incognita.  Again,  it  must  also  be 
remembered,  that  if  it  was  Arembec  that  they 
landed  upon,  we  have  no  reason  to  infer  that 
they  landed  in  that  particular  section  of 
Arembec  now  called  Maine,  since  they  would 
strike  Arembec  when  they  left  Cape  Breton, 
upon  which  they  could  coast  for  hundreds  of 
miles  before  reaching  Maine. 

But  we  must  now  turn  to  the  testimony  of 
Purchiis,  which  is  later  and  more  full.  Ilak- 
luyt's  account  is  meagre.  He  did  not  even 
know  the  name  of  ooth  the  ships,  saying 
that    one    was    the    "  Dominus    Vobiscum." 

Purchas  corrects  this  error,  and  gives  a  letter 

7 


oO 


THE   VOYAGE   01'   JOIIX    RUT. 


from  Eut  liimself,  who,  however,  makes  no 
mention  of  Arembec  or  Norumbega.  This 
letter  was  addressed  to  King  Henry  YIII, 
and  was  written  at  St.  John's,  Newfound- 
land, August  3, 1527. 

He  writes,  that  they  first  touched  at  Cape 
de  Bas  Harbor,  where  they  staid  ten  days 
"  ordering  "  the  ship  and  fisliing,  after  which 
they  sailed  southward  to  St.  John's.  Here 
they  were  on  the  third  of  August,  and  Rut 
says  that  as  soon  as  they  "  have  fished  "  they 
would  be  ready  to  depart  northward  toward 
Cape  de  Bas,  and  so  along  the  coast,  still 
northward,  until  they  found  their  consort, 
from  whence  they  would  go,  with  all  dili- 
gence, "  to  that  island  tliat  we  are  com- 
manded"  [Ptm-has,  vol  in,  p.  809). 

What  their  commands  were  we  have  no 
dilHculty  in  determining.  The  expedition 
was  fitted  out  to  seek  a  north-west  passage. 
Neither  of  the  versions  of  this  voyage,  there- 
fore,  afford   ground   for  the    statement  that 


THE    VOYAGE   OF   JOHN   HUT. 


51 


Hut's  expedition  landed  in  Maine,  which 
must  be  dismissed  as  a  very  great  mistake. 
The  coasting  "  towards "  Cape  Breton  and 
Areni])ec  appears  from  Rut's  letter  to  have 
ended,  before  they  reached  that  region,  which 
all  authorities  at  the  time  made  Arerabec 
include,  and  which  is  now  known  as  New 
Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia.  Rut  says  that 
they  first  coasted  southward  to  St.  John, 
Newfoundland,  in  search  of  the  Sampson, 
and  announces  his  intention  to  sail  north- 
ward "  along  the  coast  till  we  may  meet  with 
our  fellow." 

Nor  does  it  appear  that  Rut  afterwards 
changed  his  mind,  while  we  must  also  note 
the  fact,  communicated  in  his  letter  to  the 
king,  that  before  the  separation  from  his 
consort  it  appears  to  have  been  arranged 
that,  in  case  of  such  an  event,  they  were  to 
rendezvous  at  "  Cape  de  Sper,"  and  wait  six 
weeks.  The  information  of  Purchas  is  later, 
and  makes  ])lain  what  llakluyt  left  slightly 


I  ; 


THE   V^OYAGE   OF   JOHN    RUT. 


obscure ;  while  neither  of  these  writers  give 
any  ground  whatsoever,  for  the  hasty  asser- 
tion of  Dr.  Kohl,  that  Rut's  company  visited 
Maine,  and  were  the  first  Englishmen  Avho 
certainly  set  foot  on  the  shores  of  Maine. 

There  is  another  point  in  this  connection 
that  demands  attention.  Dr.  Kohl  not  only 
sends  the  Mary  of  Guilford  to  Maine,  but  he 
prolongs  the  voj^age  to  the  West  Indies. 
First,  it  must  be  stated,  that  Ilerrera  (Dec, 
11,  lib.  V,  c.  3),  tells  us  of  an  English  vessel 
that  appeared  oft'  Porto  Rico,  in  1519,  the 
captain  reporting,  that,  in  company  with 
another  ship,  they  had  been  sent  northwar(j 
to  find  a  passage  to  China.  In  the  course  of 
the  voyage,  this  vessel,  at  a  certain  point, 
had  been  separated  from  her  consort  by  a 
storm.  They  then  sailed  from  this  place, 
which  was  full  of  ice,  and  reached  a  warm 
sea,  afterwards  returning  to  the  Bacalaos, 
"  where  they  found  fifty  sail  of  vessels, 
Spanish,  French  and  Portuguese,  engaged  in 


THE   VOYAGE   OF   JOHN   KUT. 


53 


fishing,  <and  that  going  on  shore  to  communi- 
cate with  the  natives,  the  pilot,  a  native  of 
Piedmont,  was  killed ;  that  they  proceed od 
afterwards  along  the  coast  to  Chicora  (N 
Carolina),  and  crossed  over  thence  to  tne 
island  of  St.  Juan  (from  Porto  Rico).  The 
Spaniards  asking  them  what  voyy  sought  in 
these  islands,  they  so  id  that  tl'  ^  wished  to 
explore  in  order  to  report  t  the  king  of 
England  and  to  procure  a  load  of  Brazil 
wood."  And  Dr.  Kohl,  having  already  con- 
cluded that  the  Mary  of  Guilford  ran  down 
the  American  coast,  infers  that  this  was  the 
ship  described  by  Herrera,  on  account  of  a 
fancied  resemblence.^ 

In  order  to  harmonize  the  dates,  Dr.  Kohl, 
finding  that  Oviedo  reports  an  English  ship 
at  Porto  Rico  in  1527,  concludes  that  Her- 
rera was  in  error  in  placing  his  date  at  1519, 


'  Dr.  Kohl  here  does  little  more  than  to  repeat  some 
speculations  of  Biddle  (^Li/c  of  Cabot,  p.  1^74),  by  which 
the  latter  detracted  from  his  valuable  work. 


■I 


■I 


54 


TJIE    VOVAdE    OF   JOHN    UUT. 


and  infers  that  both  Avrote  about  the  same 
ship.  His  reason  for  this  is  threefold.  First, 
the  English  autliorities  are  silent  in  regard 
to  an  expedition.  This  is,  however,  no  valid 
reason.  The  English  authorities  came  near 
being  silent  in  regard  to  Hut's ;  while  there 
will  never  be  an  end  of  debate  on  the  alleged 
voyage  of  Cabot  in  1517.  Second,  the  im- 
probability that  "all  the  alleged  circum- 
stances" of  the  two  vessels  should  agree. 
To  this  it  must  be  observed  that  "  all "  do 
not  agree,  as  any  one  will  see  by  a  compari- 
son. Third,  Oviedo  lived  in  Porto  Rico  in 
1527.  This  appears  more  to  the  point,  yet 
if  such  a  story  was  told  at  that  time,  instead 
of  1519,  why  did  he  not  say  something 
about  it  ? 

The  writer  is  not  arguing  now  to  show 
that  Herrera  was  not  in  error,  but  simply  to 
prove  that  Rut  did  not  sail  down  the  coast. 
If  we  were  to  accept  Dr.  Kohl's  statement, 
that  the  expedition  of  Rut  returned  "  by  the 


THE  VOYAGE   OF   JOHN    RUT. 


55 


coasts  "  of  Norumbega,  there  might  be  more 
reason  for  the  opinion,  but  as  already  shown, 
Hakhiyt  simply  says  that  the  Mary  of  Guil- 
ford sailed  "  towards "  Cape  Breton  and 
Arembec,  which  is  not  the  language  that 
would  have  been  employed  to  describe  a 
voyage  to  the  West  Indies. 

But  something  more  must  be  said  of  the 
remarkable  "  coincidences,"  which  are,  how- 
ever, shown  most  forcibly  by  the  lack  of 
coincidence.  Among  other  things,  we  have 
to  note  that  Herrera  says  that  the  captain  of 
the  vessel  appearing  in  Porto  Rico,  reported 
fiftij  Spanish,  French  and  Portuguese  fishing 
vessels,  while  Rut  mentions  "eleven  saile 
of  Normans,  and  one  Brittaine,  and  two 
Portugall  barkes,"  And  another  notable 
"  coincidence  "  is  found  in  the  fact  that  while 
Rut  says  that  after  losing  his  consort,  he 
sailed  into  Cape  de  Bas,  this  Englishman 
reported  that  lie  sailed  away  from  the  region 
of  ice   into   a   warm    (''boiling   hot")    sea, 


Ml 
I 


56 


THE  VOYAGE    OF   JOUN    UUT. 


i    :i' 


meaning  the  Gulf  Stream,  and  afterwards 
returned  to  the  Baeallaos,  from  whence  they 
turned  cuja'm  to  the  south  and  reached  the 
West  Indies.  Of  course  it  is  impossible  to 
recognize  in  this  account  the  action  of  Rut 
immediately  after  parting  company  with  the 
Sampson.  He  went  to  no  boiling  hot  sea, 
and  yet  we  read  about  the  argreement  of  all 
the  alleged  circumstances!  From  the  ac- 
count it  even  appears  that  Rut  had  been 
separated  about  a  month  from  the  Sampson, 
and  yet  had  sailed  no  farther  in  the  direction 
of  the  Gulf  Stream  than  St.  John's,  New- 
foundland, from  whence  he  tells  the  king- 
he  would  return  northward  to  Cape  de  Bas. 
It  certainly  requires  some  power  of  imagina- 
tion to  find  a  parallel  in  the  two  cases. 

Another  difficulty  stands  in  the  way  of 
Dr.  Kohl's  theory,  which  is  found  in  the  fact 
that  there  was  not  sufficient  time  for  the 
Mary  of  Guilford  to  accomplish  what  is  im- 
plied.    We  find  from  the  date  of  De  Prato's 


THE   VOYAGE   OF   JOHN    RUT. 


57 


letter  that  on  August  10,  Rut  was  still  at  St. 
John's  when  it  was  his  intention  to  sail 
north,  find  the  Sampson,  and  prosecute  the 
voyage  of  north-western  discovery.  This 
they  were  hound  to  do  ;  and  Rut  speaks  of  an 
arrangement  previously  proposed  to  wait  at 
Cape  de  Bas  six  weeks.  But  supposing  thfcy 
eventually  violated  every  obligation  to  their 
companions  and  the  king,  how  soon  did  they 
turn  southward?  How  long  were  they  ex- 
ploring on  the  Maine  coast  and  sailing  lei- 
surely to  the  West  Indies  ?  How  long  were 
they  naturally  detained  at  Porto  Rico? 
'•  Some  time,"  Dr.  Kohl  says.  How  long  did  it 
take  them  to  reach  St.  Domingo?  And 
when  they  were  driven  back  from  that  place 
to  Porto  Rico  again,  how  long  did  they  stay 
trading  in  the  port  of  St.  German  ?  Then, 
finally,  how  long  a  time  must  it  have  taken 
to  sail  back  to  England  ? 

All  these  points  are  to  be  considered  ;   and 
therefore  when  we  learn  from  Hakluyt  that 


^ ;: 


58 


TJIE   VOYAGE    OF   JOHN    HUT. 


the  Mary  of  G  uilford  reached  England  at  the 
begmninfj  of  the  folloivlruj  Octoher,  the  folly 
of  supposing  this  vessel  mentioned  by  Ilcr- 
rera  was  Rut's  becomes  quite  apparent. 

There  is,  however,  one  more  point  to  be 
noticed  in  this  connection.  In  the  quotation 
from  Herrera  we  read  of  a  Piedmont  pilot 
who  was  in  the  English  ship  that  appeared 
in  Porto  Rico.  And  the  question  has  been 
asked,  Who  was  this  man  ?  Biddle  and 
Kohl  tell  us  that  this  was  probably  Verra- 
zano.  The  assumption  is  supported  by  the 
following  statements  :  First,  that  Verrazano 
instead  of  Thorne  as  Hakluyt  asserts,^  incited 
King  Henry  to  send  out  the  expedition ; 
second,  that  Verrazano  expressed  a  desire  to 
perform  another  voyage. 

It  is  also  stated  by  Ramusio,  though  he 
does  not  give  any  proof,  that  this  navigator 


'  Dr.  Kohl  eifcctually  disposes  of  this  view  in  opposing 
Hiddle  in  the  matter  of  Cabot's  voyage  of  1517.  See 
Dr.  K<M\  Work. 


TIIK    V()VA(;i':    OF    JOHN    KIT. 


59 


I 


, 


(lid  go  on  a  voyage  after  that  of  1524.  There 
was  a  dateless  rumor  abroad  in  Italy,  coupled 
with  the  report  of  the  alleged  voyage,  to  the 
eft'eet  that  Verrazano  was  killed  by  the 
savages  and  devoured  in  sight  of  his  friends. 
On  this  foundation,  after  assuming  that  the 
English  vessel  described  by  Ilerrera  was  the 
Mary  of  Guilford,  it  is  argued  that  Verrazano 
accompanied  Rut,  and  met  his  fate  as  stated. 
After  this  one  might  suppose  that  suffi- 
cient interest  had  been  excited  in  connection 
with  Maine.  Yet  Dr.  Kohl,  in  speaking  of 
the  result  of  Rut's  voyage,  says  (p.  288), 
among  various  other  things  :  "  The  Mary  of 
Guilford  not  only  came  in  sight  of  the  coast 
of  Maine,  but  she  also  '  oftentimes  put  her 
men  on  land  to  search  the  state  of  these  un- 
known regions,'"  and  that  "it  is  not  impro- 
bable, that  it  was  on  the  occasion  of  this 
landing,  that  the  celebrated  French  navigator, 
Verrazano,  was  killed  by  the  Indians."  Else- 
where (p.  284),  we  have  Dr.  Kohl's  inference, 


ft 


■ 


0(1 


TIIK    V()VA(;K    of    JOHN    KIT. 


tliut,  "if  a  monument  to  tlie  memory  <>r  Miis 
famous  navigator  should  ever  be  contem- 
plated, this  would  be  the  region  in  which  it 
should  be  erected." 

But  having  already  demonstrated  that 
there  is  not  a  line  or  word  to  show  that  John 
Rut,  either  probably  or  "  certainly,"  landed 
on  the  coast  of  Maine,  or  even  on  any  part 
of  Norumbe(/a,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say 
again,  that  this  Piedmont  pilot  met  his  alleged 
death  at  "  the  Baccalaos,"  as  Herrera  states, 
and  not  in  Maine.  By  Baccalaos,  Herrera 
could  not  certainly  have  meant  the  coast  of 
Maine.  This  place  was  where  the  English 
captain  says  he  saw  fifty  sail  of  fishermen. 
The  rendezvous  of  fishermen  is  indicated  by 
Rut's  letter  which  was  at  St.  John's.  It  was 
therefore  upon  the  island  of  Newfoundland 
that  the  pilot  was  killed,  if  killed  at  all ;  so 
that  the  suggestion  of  a  monument  to  Verra- 
zano  for  the  Maine  coast  must  be  dismissed 
to  the  winds. 


THE   VOYAGE   OF   JOHN    RUT. 


61 


As  regarrlM  the  real  fate  of  Verra/aiio,  we 
have  other  rumors  than  tliose  given  by 
liaimisio.  According  to  Barcia,  who  wrote 
the  well  known  Annals  of  Florida,  one  Juan 
the  Florentin  (see  p.  8),  was  executed  as  a 
pirate,  in  the  very  year  when  Dr.  Kohl  ima- 
gines that  he  was  devoured  by  the  Indians 
of  Maine.^     This  is  the  name  by  which  Ver- 


'  Buckingham  Smith,  Esq.,  wlio  has  recently  returned 
froui  Spaiu,  informs  me  that  during  his  investigations 
abroad  he  found  a  number  of  original  documents  that 
relate  to  the  history  of  the  Florentin,  which  confirm  his 
own  previous  convictions.  This  person,  supposed  to  be 
Verrazano,  was  captured  at  sea  by  Biscayans,  taken  to 
Cadiz,  tried  and  convicted,  and  finally  executed  (October, 
1527),  while  on  his  way  to  intercede  for  his  life  with  the 
king.  The  place  of  his  execution  was  at  El  Pico,  the 
highest  point  in  New  Castile.  Mr.  Smith  also  suggests 
tliat  much  material  will  be  found  at  Paris,  whither  it 
was  carried  from  Spain  by  Napoleon.  Mr.  Stevens  in  his 
Xotrsi  (p.  36),  says  of  Verrazano:  "The  Spaniards  knew 
of  his  voyages  [in  152-4].  They  had  been  watching  for 
him  and  had  caught  him,  and  in  1527,  hanged  him." 
These  strong  statements  somewhat  spoil  the  tradition  of 
J'anmsio.  It  may  be  said  that  this  disposition  of  But's 
voyage   leaves    the    expedition    mentioned   by   Herrera 


,1^ 


62 


THE  VOYAGE   OF   JOHN   RUT. 


il' 


razario  was  known  in  Spain,  and  it  has  long 
been  considered  probable  that  he  was  exe- 
cuted for  plundering  Cortez's  ships. 


unaccounted  for.  Yet  that  is  not  the  fault  of  the  writer. 
Besides  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  make  any  mystery  out 
of  the  fact  that  an  English  ship  appeared  in  the  West 
Indies  in  1527.  Whoever  looks  closely  at  the  account 
of  Ilerrera,  will  see  by  the  number  of  the  crew,  her 
armament  and  stores,  that  it  could  not  have  been  a 
vessel,  like  the  Mary  of  Guilford,  fitted  out  for  a  quiet 
exploration  of  the  north-west,  while  both  her  appointments 
and  movements  indicated  a  piratical  character.  Among 
the  rest  is  the  statement  that  they  had  a  great  abundance 
of  wines  and  clothes. 

The  captain  indeed  professed  to  have  a  commission 
from  the  king  of  England,  and  offered  to  show  it  to  one 
of  the  Spanish  officers,  who  could  not  read  English. 
Yet  a  pirate  would  not  be  likely  to  cruise  without  some 
kind  of  forged  papers  for  an  emergency. 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  ANDRE  TIIEVET. 


The  only  expedition  mentioned  in  the 
whole  volume  that  could  possibly  be  fastened 
upon  the  territory  of  Maine  is  the  alleged  expe- 
dition of  the  monk,  Andre  Thevet,  who  claims 
to  have  visited  this  region  in  the  year  155G. 

In  introducing  this  personage,  Dr.  Kohl 
feels  that  he  is  favoring  the  claims  of  an 
exceedingly  poor  authority,  whose  work  he 
rates  lower  than  that  of  the  chart  of  Ril)ero. 
Most  critics  will  place  Thevet  lower  than 
the  position  in  which  Dr.  Kohl  leaves  him. 

Thevet  professes  to  have  run  the  American 
coast  from  Florida  to  the  north  of  New-found- 
land,  and  yet  he  does  not  find  anything  to 
say  concerning  the  country  between  Florida 
and   parallel  43°   N. ;  a  fact  that  aAvakens 


I 
it 


f 


64 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  ANDRE  THEVET. 


the  liveliest  suspicion  at  the  outset,  leading 
us  to  ask  whether  Thevet  made  the  voyage 
at  all.  If  this,  however,  is  conceded,  then 
comes  the  question  in  regard  to  the  particu- 
lar spot  at  which  he  touched.  Dr.  Kohl 
affirms  that  he  landed  in  Maine,  and  assigns 
the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot  as  the  place. 
Let  us  therefore  examine  the  question. 

Thevet  writes  as  follows :  ''  Having  left 
Florida  on  the  left  hand  with  all  its  gulfs 
and  capes,  a  river  presents  itself  which  is  one 
of  the  finest  rivers  in  the  whole  world,  which 
we  call  Norumbega,  and  the  aborigines 
Agoncy,  which  is  marked  on  some  sea  charts 
as  the  Grand  river "  ( Cosmoyrapliie  Uuiver- 
selle,  vol.  II,  1008).  He  also  says  that  some 
pilots  would  make  him  believe  that  "  this 
country  is  the  proper  country  of  Canada. 
But  I.  told  them  it  was  far  from  the  truth,  as 
this  country  lies  in  43°  N." 

First,  Thevet's  knowledge  of  the  location 
of  Norumbega  is  defective.     The  principal 


THE  VOYAGE   OF    ANDRE    THEVET. 


65 


facts  in  relation  to  this  place  are  given  in  the 
discussion  of  the  voyage  of  Rut  (p.  44,  et  seq.), 
where  it  is  shown  that  at  the  time  of  Thevet's 
.alleged  visit  the  term  Norumbega  was  given 
by  some  to  the  whole  coast  as  far  down  as 
Florida,  though  the  name  never  had  this 
extensive  use  on  the  maps.  It  is  significant 
that  the  map  of  Gastaldi  (1550),  applies  the 
name  to  the  coast  only  as  far  south  as  the 
present  border  of  New  Brunswick.  Thevet, 
however,  says  that  Norumbega  lay  in  the 
forty-third  degree,  which  commences  at  Ply- 
mouth, Massachusetts,  and  ends  at  Rye 
Beach,  New  Hampshire.  This  shows  that 
his  ideas  were  very  crude.  Besides  it  is 
evident  that  the  monk  intends  to  represent 
his  visit  as  made  to  a  river  in  that  latitude, 
so  that  the  supposition  that  he  went  to  Maine 


'On  folio  1024  of  his  Oosmot/rajthi/,  Thevet  gives  the 

exact  location  of  the  river,  which  he  sets  down  in  lon<^i- 

tude  311°  50'  and   42°   14'  latitude,  which  varies  only 

three  minutes  from  the  position  assigned  to  the  Arnodie, 

9 


6G 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  ANDRE  THEVET. 


ill  y' 


on  a  line  north  of  44°,  does  violence  to  his 
own  representation. 

That  Tlievet  may  have  supposed  that  he 
had  reached  the  river  in  question,  is  not  very 
unlikely,  yet  it  has  not  been  shown  that 
such  was  actually  the  case.  The  latitude 
mentioned  does  not  agree  with  the  situation, 
the  name  Agoiicy  given  as  the  Indian  name 
of  the  Penobscot,  is  incorrect,  while  the  island, 
supposed  to  be  the  Fox  island,  does  not  answer 
to  the  Fox  island.  The  large  Fox  is,  first 
of  all,  composed  of  two  islands,  with  a  deep 
passage  through  them  described  by  William- 
son {Ilistonj  of  Maine,  vol.  i,  p.  72),  as  ave- 
raging a  mile  wide,  and  instead  of  eight, 
it  is  encompassed  by  a  great  many  islets, 
Williamson,  with  truth,  making  the  number 
innumerable,  or  too  numerous  to    mention. 


while  that  phice,  according  to  his  own  statement,  must 
have  been  full  one  huniJrcd  and  Jiftij  inilcn  south  of  Nor- 
unibega,  this  bein<;'  the  distance  the  ship  was  blown,  as 
will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  following  pages. 


THE  VOYAGE   OF    AXDRK    TFIEVET. 


07 


The  Long  Island  of  Thevot's  narrative  seems 
to  agree  with  the  present  Tslesboro  in  its 
shape,  but  instead  of  four  it  is  ien  leagues 
in  circumference.  The  "  Green  mountains," 
described  as  being  near  this  place,  Dr.  Kohl 
suggests  were  the  Camden  hills,  yet  Ribero, 
1527,  puts  the  Green  mountains  [Montana 
Verde),  close  to  the  Hudson  (San  Antonio) 
river,  while  Mercator,  three  years  after  the 
date  of  Thevet's  alleged  voyage  (1569),  sets 
them  far  south  in  the  same  locality.  Tlievet 
says  that  this  place  was  also  near  the  "  cape 
of  the  isles,"  which  Dr.  Kohl  suggests  may 
mean  "Cape  de  Muclia  isles."  But  these 
were  generally  put  near  the  present  Camden 
hills,  though  occasionally  as  far  south  as 
latitude  40°.  Still  it  is  very  well  known 
that  the  "  Cape  of  the  Isles  "  were  at  that 
day  distinct  from  the  Cape  Muchas  isles, 
the  former  being  placed  a  very  long  way 
)iorth  of  the  Long  Island,  and  answering  to 
the  Schoodic  Point,  which  lies  opposite   the 


I 


I 


68 


THE  VOYAGE   OF   ANDRE    THEVET. 


isle  of  Mount  Desert.  There  is  therefore 
little  or  nothing  in  the  description  that  can 
be  confidently  applied ;  while  islands  in  the 
shape  of  a  man's  arm,  as  Thevet  puts  it,  are 
everywhere  to  be  found. 

No  one  has  before  this  thought  it  worth 
while  to  introduce  Thevet  among  the  ancient 
worthies  who  visited  the  coast.  His  works 
have  ahvays  been  well  known,  but  not  highly 
esteemed.  Dr.  Kohl's  remark  (p.  419),  that 
various  writers  have  copied  his  description  of 
Norumbega,  must  be  taken  cum  (jrano  sails. 
He  indead  cites  Wytfliet's  Ptolemaicce  Aug- 
mentum  (p.  97),  yet  that  author  simply 
borrows  a  few  lines  of  general  description, 
which  he  turns  into  Latin,  and  welds  on  to 
his  own  remarks,  without  the  slightest  recog- 
nition of  Thevet  or  his  work. 

The  facts  as  given  by  Dr.  Kohl,  even,  do 
not  inspire  confidence  in  the  assertion  that 
Thevet  visited  Maine.  The  indications  sug- 
gest a  more  southern  point. 


THE  VOYAGE   OF    ANDRK    TIIEVET, 


69 


f 


But  Dr.  Kohl  does  not  exhaust  the  relation 
of  The  vet  in  its  bearings  upon  this  subject, 
which  is  dismissed  too  soon,  after  giving  so 
much  as  seemed  to  favor  this  theory.  The 
succeeding  portions  of  the  narrative  are  very 
suggestive.  These  portions  show  that  the 
monk  was  in  great  darkness  himself,  and 
poorly  prepared  to  withstand  the  pilots,  who 
told  him  that  tlie  place  in  question  was  the 
country  of  Canada,  instead  of  Norumbega. 
But  let  us  proceed  to  his  narrative. 

After  reaching  the  river  of  Norumbega, 
and  delaying  five  days,  they  set  sail,  and 
went  out  into  the  open  sea  to  avoid  the  shal- 
lows and  rips.  He  says,  "  We  had  not  pro- 
ceeded more  than  fifteen  leagues  before  there 
came  a  contrary  east  wind,  and  the  sea  was  so 
rough  that  we  were  near  perishing ;  and  finally 
the  gale  drove  us  some  fifty  leagues  from  that 
place  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Arnodie, 
situated  between  Judi  ( JuvcU)  and  the  cape 
on  the  right,  where  we  wen    compelled  to 


I  i 


70 


THE  VOYAGE  OF  ANDRE  THEVET. 


enter  half  a  league  and  drop  anchor  to  escape 
the  storm  and  the  fury  of  the  sea."  Here 
they  were  hospitably  received  and  obtained 
an  abundance  of  both  fresh  and  salt  water 
fish,  especially  of  salmon.  Where  "  Arnodie  " 
lay  does  not  exactly  appear ;  but  suppos- 
ing they  were  at  the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot 
when  they  set  out  (of  which,  be  it  remem- 
bered, we  have  no  proof),  the  fifteen  leagues 
first  sailed  out  into  the  open  sea  would  only 
have  carried  them  forty-five  miles  around  to 
the  outside  of  Mount  Desert.  Then  came 
the  eastern  gale,  which  if  it  had  driven  them 
straight  leeward,  as  was  usually  the  case  with 
the  inferior  vessels  of  those  days,  they  would 
inevitably  have  gone  to  pieces  upon  the  iron 
bound  shores  of  Maine,  before  driving  fifty 
miles  from  the  point  where  the  gale  struck 
them.  But,  as  appears  to  have  been  the 
case  from  this  narrative,  the  wind  allowed 
them  to  put  the  head  of  the  ship  off"  shore, 
and  keep  far  enough  out  at  sea  to  drift  wibh- 


I 


THE  VOYAGE   OF   ANDRE    TIIEVET. 


71 


out  touching  the  land  for  fifty  leagues,  or 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  In  that  case 
when  they  made  a  harbor,  if  the  account 
relates  to  this  coast  at  all,  they  must  have 
come  to  land  somewhere  towards  Boston  bay.^ 
This,  however,  places  them  in  an  awkward 
position  to  enter  upon  the  course  that  follows. 
We  read :  "  Leaving  this  river  [Arnodie] 
and  coasting  straight  along  Baccalaos,'  we 
journeyed  and  ploughed  the  sea,  as  fiir  as  the 
Isle  Thevet  and  thence  to  the  Isles  of  St. 
Croix,  of  the  Bretons  and  the  savages,  to  the 
head  of  Cape  Breton." 

And  where,  according  to  the  monk,  was 
Baccalaos?      This  place  he  distinctly  says 

'  In  giving  the  position  of  Arnodie  on  folio  1024,  of 
his  Cosmoi/ntjihi/,  Thevet  places  it  in  42°  11'  N.  If 
this  is  a  true  account  of  a  genuine  voyage,  the  cape  may 
h:ive  been  Cape  Cod.  But  by  Cape  Cod  Dr.  Kohl  under- 
stu.ds  Cape  Arenas,  which  Thevet  puts  in  latitude  38°  N. 
His  obscure  language  is  as  follows:  Luissaitt  cestc  rioiere 
((■  ViiMoliutt  (Jr  (1ru!t  Jil  (Ic  III  par  I  (h  Jidccidoos,  f.  1009. 

-  Thevet  here  represents  himself  as  sailing  on  the  coast 
of  Baccalaos. 


72 


THE  VOYAGE   OF    ANDRE    THE  VET. 


was  in  48°  30'  N.  The  name  was  not  applied 
to  the  New  England  coast,  upon  which  he 
must  have  been  sailing,  if  sailing  at  all,  and, 
moreover,  he  elsewhere  appropriates  the 
whole  region  under  the  divisions  of  Norum- 
bega,  Angouleme  and  Acadie.  The  whole 
account  shows  too  much  unacquaintance  with 
the  places  in  question  to  allow  us  to  place 
him  definitely  on  any  part  of  the  coast  of 
Maine. 

Thevet  is  a  notoriously  poor  authority, 
and  adds  a  mendacious  spirit  to  an  incredu- 
lous mind.  His  works  will  everywhere 
justify  the  sharpest  criticism,  and  when  we 
find  him  saying  that  his  countrymen  had 
taken  possession  of  this  region,  and  built 
a  fort,  \ong  before  his  own  arrival,  we  are 
forced  to  put  the  assertion  with  that  to  the 
effect  that  the  neighboring  region  to  the 
north  was  discovered  by  the  Bretons  in  1504, 
and  that  French  pilots  had  a  share  in  the 
discovery  of  South  America. 


THE  VOYAGE   OF   ANDRE    TIIEVET. 


i  o 


Thevet  certainly  could  have  had  no  real 
knowledge  of  the  place  he  endeavors  to 
doscrihe.  Elsewhere  we  find  him  speaking 
of  the  gulf  full  of  islands  that  lies  between 
Angouleme  and  Acadie,  whereas  that  gulf, 
the  present  Bay  of  Fundy,  is  not  so  distin- 
guished. Thevet  had  no  acquaintance  with 
the  localities,  since  he  had  in  mind  the 
islands  of  the  Maine  coast,  while  Angouleme 
and  Acadie  are  represented  by  the  modern 
New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia,  Angou- 
leme terminating  at  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Croix  river.  Nor  can  we  fail  to  notice  that 
ho  both  ambitiously  manages  to  have  an 
island  called  after  his  name,  and  pretends 
to  have  named  Angouleme  himself  in  honor 
of  his  birthplace  ;  but  it  is  the  simple  truth, 
that  the  name  was  applied  by  others  long 
before. 

Thus  far  we  have  gone  on  showing  that,  in 

case  this  voyage  was  really  made  along  the 

New  Eugland  coast,  we  have  no  authority 
10 


74 


TiiK  vdVAnr:  or  andkk  thkvet. 


for  bolii'ving  that  he  landed  in  Maine.  But 
it  is  now  time  to  considei'  whether  he  made 
the  vojage  at  all.  His  hunj^lin';'  and  contra- 
dictor'- narrative  would  be  suflicient  to 
banish  him  trom  the  coast,  but  the  sketches 
of  his  biographers  seem  to  do  more.  Dr. 
Kohl  indeed  writes  (p.  410),  that  lie  "ap- 
pears to  have  sailed  along  the  coast  of  North 
and  South  America,"  and  says,  "see  upon  this, 
Jticher,  OelcJirfen  Lexicon,  vol.  iv,  p.  1130." 
But  nothing  more  is  there  conveyed  than 
that  he  returned  from  Brazil  in  the  course  of 
a  year.  Dr.  Kohl  says  that  Thevet  seems  to 
have  sailed  these  coasts,  from  language  used 
in  his  SiiKjulartfies  of  Antarctic  France,  a  work 
that  the  monk  had  the  assurance  so  to  style 
at  a  time  when  the  total  strength  of  France 
in  South  America  was  eighty  men  confined 
on  a  rock  in  the  harbor  of  Rio  Janeiro.^ 
Yet  Dr.  Kohl,  or  any  one  else,  wouk^  not 


l! 


Sec  Sonthci/'s  Brazil,  vol.  i,  p.  172. 


THE   YOVAriK   OK    AN'DKK    TIIKVKT. 


10 


wish  to  ([iioto  th«  languago  refonvd  to  as 
proof.  On  this  point  liis  hio;j;raphy  is  pretty 
conclusive.  Jiicher's  work  was  published  in 
17')l.  Yet  in  /ilot/ydiikic  Ualrermlle,^  (182G— 
27).  we  lind  that  Tlievet  left  Havre,  France, 
July  12,  L-")j").  and  reached  liio  Janeiro  on 
the  lOth  ov  14tli  of  the  following  November. 
It  is  related  that  he  '^  fell  sick  almost  as 
soon  as  he  touched  the  land,  and  had  only 
recovered  when  he  reembarkcd  for  France, 
January  ol,  Io-jO,  without  having  been  able 
to  examine  ]5razil,  of  which  he  nevertheless 
gave  a  very  circumstantial  account."  There- 
fore it  was  with  good  reason  that  Lery  began 
his  work,  Navif/afloiils  BrazlUam  (1586),  with 
a  refutation  of  the  errors  and  frauds  [errores 
tie  fi'dudefi)  of  The  vet,  who  had  still  poorer 
grounds  for  describing  Mexico,  Florida  and 
the  country  beyond  latitude  42°  N.,  where 


'  >See  article  on  Thevet,  Div.  i,  vol.  45,  and  Sketch  of 
Ville^agnon,  vol.  XLix. 


76 


THE  VOYAGE   OF    ANDRK    THEVET. 


he  did  not  ^o,  as  his  own  miserable  account 
and  the  silence  ol"  his  biographers  (La  Ro- 
quette  and  Weiss)  clearly  prove. 

Dr.  Kohl  hirasell'  confesses  (p.  419),  that, 
"  the  other  rivers,  the  capes,  and  islands  of 
Maine  and  Nova  Scotia,  which  he  incidently 
mentions,  are  not  easily  identified,  and  his 
observations  on  them  are  not  of  any  value." 
Indeed  they  cannot  be  identified  at  all,  even 
where  they  are  not  incidentally  but  speci- 
fically mentioned,  as  they  are  inextricably 
jumbled  up  with  fabulous  matters,  such  as 
the  Isle  of  Demons,  and  the  Two  Chat- 
eaux (which  appears  to  be  the  beginning  of 
the  fabulous  f'iYy  of  Norumbega?),^  the  Exiled 
Woman,  and  the  Adveatures  of  the  Nestorian 
Bishop. 

The  most  reasonable  view,  therefore,  is  that 
The  vet  never  made  the  voyage  in  question, 
but  constructed   his  story    from    maps    and 


'  8ce  /icsrurliot,  by  KiToudello.  p   4G. 


THE  VOYAGK   OF    xYNDKH    TIIEVET. 


/  / 


the  relations  of  others.  Tf  the  ship  in  which 
he  took  passage  thus  went  out  of  her  course, 
Ave  should  expect  to  find  some  proof  of  it  in 
Thcvet's  biography.  Again  we  see  that  it 
Is  unreasonable.  In  order  to  roach  Florida 
(not  to  say  Mexico) ,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
sail  westward  across  the  South  Atlantic  about 
fort!/-Jire  degrees  out  of  the  direct  course. 
And  after  reaching  Florida  they  are  repre- 
sented as  penetrating  towards  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Greenland,  where  for  twenty  days 
(in  nndsummer  ?),  they  were  tormented  by 
the  frosts,  after  which  they  sailed,  we  know 
not  where.  The  object  of  this  alleged  voy- 
age is  not  stated,  nor  have  we  any  particu- 
lars of  its  beginning  or  termination,  though 
if  it  had  really  been  made  there  would  have 
becx.  no  end  to  the  relation  of  Thevet's 
adventures.  Hut  Thevet  himself  is  almost 
sile)it.  On  no  page  of  his  ponderous  works 
can  the  investigator  show  proof  of  his  per- 
sonal   contact    with    the    North    American 


7S 


THE   VOVAGE    OF    ANDHI'l    TIIKVET. 


coast;  lie  tells  us  llotllin,^•  of"  value  which 
others  had  not  told  before.  The  i'resh,  glow- 
ing recital,  that  Hows  i'roui  a  niiiid  kindling 
with  the  recolle(;tionH  of  a  new  world,  is 
wanting.  In  a  word,  this  relation  of  Thevet 
appears  to  he  a  fraud . 

Such  is  the  result  of  some  exiunination  ol' 
Dr.  Kohl's  work,  so  far  as  it  bears  directly 
upon  the  history  of  Maine,  to  whose  annals 
it  adds  so  little.  During  the  long  period 
intervening  between  the  voyages  of  the 
Northmen  and  the  charter  of  Gilbert,  he  fails 
to  show  a  single  European  actually  stepping 
upon  the  Maine  shore.  That  such  there 
were  we  cannot  doubt,  yet  they  came  and 
went,  leaving  scarcely  more  than  f'ujt- 
prints,  hastily  pressed  on  the  shining  sand. 
And  thus  to-day  we  enter  the  great  libraries 
of  the  old  world,  search  the  dusty  alcoves  of 
feudal  homes,  and  delve  amid  the  mouldy 
archives  of  ancient  sea-port  towns,  vainly 
endeavoring  to  illustrate  with  som'^  fragment 


i 


THE    V()YA(iE    OF    AXDHE    TUEVET. 


79 


ol'  narrative,  the  rude,  but  still  invaluable, 
partisan  map  we  bear.  In  connection  with 
the  period  referred  to,  Dr.  Kohl  has  not  yet 
shown  one  authentic  parwjraph  to  shed  light 
upon  the  history  of  that  romantic  coast, 
which  stretches  in  all  its  wild,  unequaled 
beauty,  from  the  E^iscataqua  to  the  St.  Croix. 
Patient  industry  may  in  the  future  meet  with 
its  reward  ;  yet  wli(jever  looks  for  fresh  light 
on  the  history  of  early  Maine,  must  not  only 
learn  to  labor  but  to  loait. 


THE 


DISCOVERY  Of  MASSACHUSETTS  BAY. 


In  the  foregoing  papers  the  effort  has  been 
made  to  assign  several  of  the  alleged  Maine 
voyages  of  Dr.  Kohl  to  their  proper  place, 
and  to  exhibit  something  of  the  process  by 
which  the  narratives  were  drawn  into  a 
wrong  connection.  It  noAv  remains,  there- 
fore, in  closing,  to  give  a  single  example 
illustrating  the  faults  of  omission. 

That  there  should  be  anything  to  say  on 
this  point  should  not  be  considered  very  re- 
markable. Yet  much  time,  talent,  and  money, 
has  been  expended  to  make  the  work  as  com- 
plete as  possible,  and  every  class  of  allusion 
that  came  in  the  way  has  been  garnered  up 


DISCOYEllY   OF    MASSACHUSETTS    BAY, 


81 


and  brought  to  lend  an  interest  to  the  coast 
of  Maine.  The  obscurest  reference  known 
to  the  author  has  been  utihzed  and  minutely 
dwelt  upon  for  the  purpose  of  showing  its 
relation  to  a  single  spot  on  the  New  England 
coast.  The  omission  referred  to  is  at  least 
noticeable,  especially  as  the  means  of  inform- 
ation in  this  case  were  open  to  all. 

It  is  but  just,  however,  to  add  that  in  this 
instance  Dr.  Kohl  finds  himself  in  the  com- 
pany of  not  only  every  New  England,  but 
even  every  national  writer,  that  has  under- 
taken to  treat,  either  little  or  much,  of  the 
early  voyages  to  America.  All  of  these 
writers  fail  to  notice  the  voyage  which,  per- 
haps, carried  the  navigator  along  the  coast 
of  Maine,  while  it  certainly  was  extended  to 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  formed  its  first  well 
autlienticated  rediscovery.  Even  Mr.  Palirey 
in  his  cautiously  written  narrative  of  early 
voj^ages  along  the  New  England  coast,  does 

not  allude  to  this  occurrence  in  the  slightest 
11 


I 


82 


DISCOVERY   OF    MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 


way,  even  though  he  enumerates  every  expe- 
dition known  to  him  that  could  possibly 
enhance  the  interest  of  liis  history  of  New 
England. 

But  before  speaking  of  the  voyage  in  ques- 
tion, let  us  first  notice  some  things  by  which 
it  was  preceded. 

If  the  generally  received  interpretation  of 
the  Icelandic  Saiias  is  correct,  the  Northmen 
of  the  eleventh  centurj^  must  be  viewed  as 
the  orir/i)t(d  European  discoverers  of  Massa- 
chusetts bay.  To  this  honor  they,  indeed, 
make  no  claim,  yet  their  simple  narratives 
describe  such  a  place,  and  reveal  the  fact 
that  they  were  familiar  with  the  entire 
locality  around  Avhich  Cape  Cod  throws  its 
sheltering  arm.  Thorvald  Ericson,  in  the 
spring  of  1004,  became  acquainted  with  Cape 
Cod,  where  he  broke  the  keel  of  his  vessel, 
and  afterwards  crossed  to  Plymouth  and 
sailed  along  the  coast  towards  Boston,  where 
he  lost  his  life. 


DISCOVEKY   OF    MASSACHUSETTS    BAY. 


83 


In  the  year  1008,  Thorhall  the  Hunter, 
who  was  attached  to  the  expedition  of  Thor- 
finn  Karlsefne,  attempted  to  sail  around  Cape 
Cod  and  enter  Massachusetts  bay,  but  failed, 
and  was  driven  out  to  sea  by  a  storm. 

In  the  year  1000,  Karlsefne  himself  went 
around  Cape  Cod  and  sailed  along  the  coast 
until,  oft'  Boston,  he  raised  the  Blue  Hills, 
when  he  returned  to  the  settlement  in  Rhode 
Island,  appearing  unwilling  to  venture  up 
the  coast  of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  on 
account  of  the  Unipeds,  or  one-footed  men, 
fabled  to  live  there  ;  in  which  we  trace  the 
equivalent,  if  not  the  origin  of  the  Isle  of 
Demons,  in  modern  times  a  terror  to  the 
French  and  Spanish  sailors,  who  declared 
that  they  often  distinctly  heard  terrible  cries 
and  yells  of  the  fiends. 

With  Karlsefne's  voyage,  the  connection 
of  the  Northmen  with  the  bay  in  question 
comes  to  an  end,  so  far  as  the  record  goes. 


fl 


»    ii 

V. 


84 


DISCOVERY   OF    MASSACHUSETTS    J5AY, 


That  the  Northmen  were  familiar  witli 
this  bay,  is  also  apparent  from  the  map  drawn 
by  Sigardus  Stephtmius  in  1570,  and  given 
in  Torfanis's  fxronland'ia  Antlqim.  On  this 
map  we  have  the  Promontatiiim  Vi/fhaidio', 
answering  to  Cape  Cod,  and  very  distinctly 
laid  down  with  a  bay  within,  answering  well 
enongji  to  Massachusetts  bay.  The  latitude 
is  placed  too  far  north,  yet  an  error  of  this 
sort  might  have  been  expected  at  a  time 
time  when  the  draughtsman  had  no  scientific 
data  for  his  guidance.  Th(>  northern  end  of 
the  cape  he  places  in  50°  North,  yet  this 
part  of  the  map  is  no  more  crude  than  the 
Greenland  section.  On  the  whole,  consider- 
ing the  means  which  Stephanius  had  at  hand 
for  his  work,  he  was  quite  successful. 
Especially  does  this  appear  when  we  compare 
this  performance  with  later  maps. 

Dr.  Kohl,  while  admitting  the  value  of 
the  map,  felt  troubled  because  the  cape  is 
represented  on  so   large  a  scale,  and  apolo- 


DISCOVERY   OF    MASSACHUSETTS   BAY, 


85 


gizes  for  this,  on  the  ground  that  the  pL'ico 
made  a  Large  figure  in  the  accounts  of  the 
voyages,  and  therefore  led  the  draughtsman 
to  give  it  this  prominence  in  his  sketch. 
And  this  remark  sliould  doubtk^ss  hav^  a 
certain  weight,  though  it  is  perhaps,  on  the 
whok",  not  needed,  as  will  appear  from  the 
fact  that  the  Cape  Cod  of  to-day  is  not  the 
Cape  Cod  of  the  eleventh  century.  This 
region  has  undergone  very  extensive  changes,^ 
and  does  not  present  the   area  that  it  once 


'  The  author  in  his  work  on  Prr-Cnlvmhlan  Dmovery 
(p.  29),  has  called  attention  to  this  fact,  showing  from 
the  Sagas,  and  from  recent  investigations,  that  a  large 
ishiiid  and  a  piece  of  land  formerly  lay  off  the  eastern 
shore  of  Cape  Cod,  where  now  is  an  open  .^ea,  this  view 
having  the  approval  of  Prof.  Agassiz,  who  considers  the 
evidence  as  conclusive  as  any  geological  evidence  could 
well  be.  Mr.  John  Doane,  born  near  what  Gosnold  named 
Point  Care,  testified  in  18()4,  that  '•  his  father  and  grand- 
father, in  fact  all  his  ancestors  from  the  first  settlement, 
owned  the  land  and  the  meadows  between  Isle  Nauset 
and  the  main.  He  says  that,  within  his  recollection,  Point 
Care  has  worn  away  kIxhU  luilf  h  mUc.  When  his  grand- 
father  was   a   boy,  Point  Care   extended  much   farther 


w 


86 


DlSrOVEUY    OF    MASSACHUSETTS    BAY. 


filled.  In  GoHiKjld's  titne  the  island  and 
part  of  the  headland  called  Point  Gilbert 
remained ;    though    in    IG80,    the    Labadist 


iiitii  the  ocean  than  it  did  when  lie  was  younj;-.  These 
arc  nut  vai;nc  and  uncertain  recollections.  Mr.  Doane 
points  to  monuments,  and  the  e.xact  distance  that  the 
ocean  has  encroaL'hcd  on  the  land  within  his  recollection 
can  be  ascertained.  lie  states  that  fifty  years  aj^o  a 
beach  extended  from  the  present  entrance  of  \auset 
harbor,  half  a  mile  north,  where  the  entrance  was. 
Within  this  beach  his  father  owned  ten  acres  of  salt 
meadows,  on  which,  he  for  several  years  assisted  him  in 
cutting-  and  rakinj;'  the  hay.  Now  where  that  beach  was 
there  are  three  or  four  fathoms  of  water,  and  where  the 
meadows  were  is  a  sand  bar  on  which  the  waves  continu- 
ally break,  and  make  Nauset  harbor  difficult  of  access. 
Within  his  memory,  the  north  beach  connected  with 
Eastham  shore,  has  extended  south  one  mile,  and  the 
whole  beach  has  moved  inward  about  its  width,  say  one 
fourth  of  a  mile."  Mr.  Doane  also  testifies  that  in  the 
middle  of  Isle  Nauset  there  was  a  rocky  piece  of  land 
known  as  Slut's  liush,  and  that  he  had  formerly  picked 
berries  there.  This  spit  now  lies  some  distance  from 
shore  in  deep  water,  where  the  fisherman  often  tangles 
his  lines  among  the  roots  of  old  trees  that  still  renniin, 
multitudes  of  which  have  come  ashore  during  heavy 
gales.  Furthermore,  "  Beyond  Slut's  Bush,  about  three 
miles    from   the    shore,    there   is  a  similar   ledge  called 


DISrOVEUV   OF    MASSAnirSETTS    BAY.        S7 


IJi'otlircn,  according  to  the  first  volume  of 
the  Long  Ishind  Historical  Society  (p.  377), 
say :    "  Cape   Cod    is   a   clean    cojist,    where 


Tk'riali's   lodjio,   probably  formed   in   precisoly  tho  same 
uianiicr  as  Slut's  Bush  is  known  to  have  been  formed." 

Mr.  Otis  also  says :  •' We  have  historical  and  circum- 
stantial evidence,  that  Point  (lilbert  existed  in  1G()2;  it 
united  with  the  main  land  at  Junies  head  near  Chatham 
lijihts.  From  James  head,  on  its  south  shore,  it  extended 
nine  miles  on  an  cast  by  south  course  to  its  eastern  ter- 
minus, afterwards  known  as  Webb's  island,  situate  where 
('rabl)'s  ledne  now  is.  ('ape  ("are  was  worn  away  by  the 
i:radual  abrasion  of  the  waves.  Over  Point  Gilbert  the 
sea,  during  a  violent  gale,  swept,  carrying  away  long 
sections  in  a  single  day."  lie  adds,  Morse  states  lUuiver. 
Gro;/.,  r,  317,  ed.,  1793],  "  that  Webb's  island  at  one 
time  contained  fifteen  acres  of  rocky  land  covered  with 
wood,  from  which  the  early  inhabitants  of  Xantueket 
procured  fuel.  The  process  which  has  been  described  as 
having  occurred  at  Slut's  Bush  ledge  also  occurred  at 
Crabb  and  island  ledges;  the  stumps  and  roots  of  trees 
were  carried  down  by  the  superincumbent  rocks.  Mr. 
floshua  Y.  Bearse,  who  resided  many  years  at  Manamoit 
point,  and  has  all  his  life  been  familiar  with  the  shoals 
and  ledges  near  Chatham,  informs  me  that  it  is  very 
difficult  to  obtain  an  anchor  lost  near  either  of  these 
ledges  ;  the  sweeps  used  catch  against  the  rocks  and  stumps 
at  the  bottom  ;  that  in  repeated  instances  he  has  pulled  up 


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88        DISCOVERY  OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 


there  are  no  islands,  rocks  or  banks."  They 
also  add  what  was  not  at  all  true  half  a 
century  before,  not  wholly  true  at  the  time 
they  wrote,  namely  :  "  therefore  all  such  laid 


stumps  of  trees  from  the  bottom  where  the  wiiter  is  four 
fathoms  deep.  He  also  states  that  after  the  violent  gale 
in  1851,  durin<i  wliieh  the  sea  broke  over  Nauset  beach, 
*  *  sweeping  away  banks  of  earth  twenty  feet 
high,  cutting  channels  therein  five  fathoms  deep,  moving 
the  sea  to  its  very  bottom,  and  tearing  up  old  stumps 
which  had  been  there  more  than  a  century.  Mr.  Hearse 
states  that  more  than  one  hundred  of  these  drifted  during 
that  gale  to  the  shore  at  Manamoit  beach ;  and  that  he 
picked  them  up  for  I'ucl.  A  part  of  these  stumps  bore 
the  mark  of  the  axe,  but  the  greater  part  were  broken  or 
rotted  off."  Mnr-ii.  llixt.  and  Gen.  Rr(/lster,  18G4,  p.  43. 
The  foregoing  shows  what  has  been  wn.i -'lit  by  the 
ravages  of  the  sea  during  the  last  two  and  a  half  centuries, 
and  gives  some  ground  for  inference  in  regard  to  what 
must  have  been  effected  by  the  same  agent  between  the 
time  of  the  Northmen  and  the  voyage  of  Uosnold.  The 
whole  region  is  composed  of  what  the  geologist  calls 
drift,  or  sand  and  gravel,  easily  carried  away  by  the  waves. 
Everything  goes  to  prove  that  the  sea  around  (Jape  Cod 
was  once  nearly  filled  up  by  this  formation  Nantucket 
and  Martha's  V^ineyard  were  once  connected,  and  may 
have  been  a  part  of  the  system  which  included  the  island.s 
that  rose  above  the  sea  where  the  shoals  of  Georges  now 


DISCOYERY   OP    M ASS Ariir SETTS   BAY, 


89 


down  on  the  cliarts  of  tho  great  reef  of 
Malobarro  and  otherwise  is  false."  The  old 
maps/  though  made  on  poor  information,  are 
nevertheless  right,  so  far  as  they  go  in  indi- 


iippear.  Point  (Jilbert  and  otlier  outlyinj^  portions  of  the 
land  that  have  more  recently  disappeared  had  imr/ii 
(•(iin])ip,sed  of  rock  and  elay  which  enabled  thoin  to  resist 
the  force  of  the  waves  for  a  much  lonjrer  period  than  the 
parts  not  thus  protected.  We  see  an  illuf<tration  of  the 
same  thinu'.  at  IIij:;hlaMd  Light  to-day,  where  tlic  well 
known  Clay  I'ounds  stand  forth  to  buttress  the  sandy  cliffs 
rapidly  washing  away,  and  which  will  one  day  disippear, 
and  leave  a  point  of  land  extending  into  the  sea. 

Tt  may  be  mentioned  in  this  connection,  that  the  truth 
of  Verazzano's  relation  has  been  questioned,  because  he 
passes  Cape  Cod  without  recognizing  its  remarkable 
features,  or  noticing  the  shoals  of  Creorges.  If  the  fore- 
going facts  had  been  borne  in  mind,  the  objection  would 
not  probably  have  been  urged,  as  we  do  not  know  that 
any  shoals  were  in  existence  at  that  place  in  1524.  This 
is  very  likely  the  well  known  history  of  the  famous  Good- 
win Sands  repeated  in  America.  On  the  whole,  therefore, 
the  old  map  of  ■'^"teplianius  needs  hardly  to  be  apologized 
for,  on  account  of  the  large  area  which  it  gives  to  the 
promontory  of  Vinland,  or  Cape  Cod. 

'  At  the  present  time  the  material  being  taken  by  the 
sea  from  Cape  Cod  is  said  to  be  transported  to  the  north- 
ward, where  a  shoal  is  now  ttu'ming. 
12 


■I 
I 


DO        DISCOVERY   OF    MASSACHUSETTS    BAY. 


eating  the  islandH  and  the  shoals  east  of 
Cape  Cod  which  have  been  scoured  awjiy. 
Visscher's  map  is  of  particidar  interest  in  this 
connection. 

At  what  time  Cape  Cod  appears  in  the 
cartology  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it 
would  perhaps  be  difficult  to  determine.  So 
remarkable  a  region  should,  on  all  just  prin- 
ciples, have  made  some  figure  in  the  French, 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  maps  of  the  previous 
century,  yet  we  are  left  in  doubt  whether 
Cape  St.  Mary,  on  Ruscelli's  map  of  1501,  and 
Cape  de  Arenas,  found  on  earlier  maps,  really 
refer  to  Cape  Cod  or  not. 

That  this  region  was  often  coasted  by 
navigators  of  diflerent  nations,  there  can  of 
course  be  no  doubt,  yet  it  is  very  plumply 
declared  in  Folsom's  History  of  Saco  and 
Biddeford  (p.  9),  that  "that  the  discovery 
of  New  England  may  justly  be  ascribed  to 
Bartholomew  Gosnold,  an  enterprising  and 
intelligent  navigator,  who,  in  the  year  1602, 


DISCOVERY   OF    MASSACIIl'SETTS    BAY. 


91 


performed  a  voyage  to  this  part  of  North 
Aniorica,  before  unknown  to  the  civilized 
world." 

Coming  down  to  a  more  recent  date,  we 
find  Barry,  in  his  Huttory  of  Zfiissachusefts 
(p.  9),  declaring  that  "  the  first  English 
voyage  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  Massachu- 
setts." This  is  supplemented  by  a  note  on 
the  same  page,  whf-e  it  is  said,  "  The  shores 
of  Massachusetts  may  have  been,  and  doubt- 
less were,  seen  before  this  time  ;  but  the  dis- 
covery of  Gosnold  is  the  first  we  are  able  to 
luithenticate  by  that  species  of  evidence 
which  rises  above  mere  conjecture  or  strong 
probability."  That  this  is  an  error  will 
shortly  appear. 

Mr.  Palfrey  is  more  cautious,  and  after 
alluding  to  the  Northmen,  to  Madoc,  the 
Zeni,  Cortereal,  Skolnus,  the  Cabots,  Veraz- 
zano,  Gomez,  and  Gilbert,  he  properly  men- 
tions Gosnold,  Brereton,  and  three  others, 
tis  ''  the  first  Englishmen  known  to  have  set 


i 


D2        DISCOVERY    OF    MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 


foot  upon  the  soil  of  Massachusetts."  {H'uitoi'y 
of  New  Eiujland,  p.  71).  Mr.  Drake,  how- 
ever, in  his  painstaking  History  of  Boston 
(p.  12),  says,  with  k'ss  precision,  that  Gos- 
nold  was  "  the  first  of  any  nation  who  had 
reached  any  part  of  the  United  States, 
except  Verrazani."  Dr.  Kohl  and  the  Maine 
writers  are  therefore  no  worse  ofl*  than  the 
historians  of  Massachusetts. 

But  it  is  now  time  to  speak  of  the  voyage 
alluded  to  at  the  outset  as  overlooked  by  all 
American  writers.  The  person  to  whom  we 
are  indebted  for  this  voyage  was  Jean  All- 
fonsce  of  Saintonge,  who  in  the  year  1542, 
went  out  to  Canada  as  the  pilot  of  Roberval's 
expedition,  and  who  mentions  his  voyage  to 
the  southward  in  a  work  which  he  composed 
with  the  aid  of  an  assistant,  and  left  substan- 
tially finished  at  his  death.  The  original 
manuscript  is  now  in  the  Imperial  Library 
at  Paris.  Several  professed  copies  of  this 
work  have  appeared  in  print,  yet  they  are 


DISCOVEKY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  BAY. 


93 


represented  as  imperfect  abstracts.  One  of 
these,  a  quarto  volume,  appeared  in  1550, 
under  the  title  of  The  Adventurous  Yoymjea  of 
Captain  Jan  Al/once  Saintomjeoia.  A  second 
edition  appeared  in  1578,  and  a  third  is  men- 
tioned of  1598. 

M.  Davezac,  in  his  brief  article  on  All- 
fonsce,  which  will  be  given  before  closing  the 
subject,  says  that  Margry  intended  to  include 
it  in  his  volume  then  (1857)  under  prepara- 
tion. It  does  not,  however,  appear  in  his 
Xai'lf/ations  Francoises  (18G7)  except  in  ex- 
tracts. And  among  these  will  be  found  the 
following : 

"  Ces  terres  tiennent  h,  la  Tarfarie,  et  pense 
que  ce  se  soit  le  haul  de  VAsie  selon  la  rondeur 
du  monde.  Et  pour  ce  il  seroit  lx)n  avoir  uug 
navire  petit  de  soixante  et  dix  tonneaux  pour 
descoucrir  la  coste  de  la  Fleuride,  car  fay  cste 
a  line  haye  jwKjues  a  42  degres,  entre  Norem- 
heijue  et  la  Fleuride,  mais  nay  pas  veu  du  tout 


94 


DISCOVERY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  HAY. 


le  fond  et  ne  8gay  pits  all  ^>a**e  plus  avant.'^ 
(Navigations  Frangaises  et  La  ESvolution  Mari- 
time Du  XIV  au  XVP  Sikh,  p.  323,  ed. 
1867).^ 

This  rendered  into  English  stands  as 
follows :  • 

"  These  lands  reach  to  Tartary,  and,  I 
think  that  it  is  the  end  of  Asia,  according  tc 
the  roundness  of  the  world.  And  for  this 
purpose  it  w^ould  be  well  to  have  a  small 
vessel  of  seventy  tons  in  order  to  discover  the 
coast  of  Florida,  for  I  have  been  at  a  bay  as 
far  as  forty-two  degrees,  between  Norumbega 
and  Florida,  but  I  have  not  seen  the  end,  and 
I  do  not  know  whether  it  extends  any  farther." 

Margry  quotes  this  passage,  however,  with 
reference  not  to  shedding  light  upon  Massa- 
chusetts history,  but  to  illustrate  Allfonsce's 


'  I  have  to  acknowledge  uiy  obligations  to  J.  Carson 
Brevoort,  Esq.,  president  of  tiie  Long  Island  Historical 
Society,  for  pointing  out  this  extract  in  iMargry,  referring 
tothevoyageofAUfonsce,  likewise  for  frequent  suggestions, 


r 


DISCOVERY  OF   MASSACHUSETTS   I$AY. 


95 


i 


belief  of  a  north-west  passage  to  India,  as  the 
French  captain  also  thought  that  the  Sague- 
nay  river  might  likewise  lead  to  the  Pacific  or 
to  Cathay.  Margry  did  not  perceive  the  really 
great  point  of  interest  in  connection  with  the 
extract,  as  his  studies  do  not  lead  him  to 
investigate  such  points  of  local  history. 
Nevertheless  we  see  very  clearly  that  All- 
Ibnsce,  in  the  voyage  alluded  to,  discovered 
Massachusetts  bay,  which  lies  in  the  latitude 
mentioned.  This  navigator  followed  a  sea- 
faring life  for  many  years,  and  was  a  most 
experienced  and  careful  pilot,  whose  compu- 
tations could  be  depended  upon.  Such  was 
the  value  of  his  services,  that  they  were 
coveted  by  the  Portuguese,  under  whose  flag 
he  sailed  for  a  time,  which  has  led  historical 
students  of  that  nation  to  claim  him  as  a 
fellow  countryman.      Allfonsce  sailed  down 


and  the  use  of  most  valuable,  and  otherwise  inaccessible, 
works,  which  tl»e  author  has  had  occat^ion  to  consult  from 
time  to  time. 


96        DISCOVERY  OP   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 


the  coast  past  Nova  Scotia,  and  then,  per- 
haps, shaped  his  course  westward  to  the 
shores  of  Maine.  The  latter  is,  at  present, 
conjecture,  for  he  may  have  pursued  a  south- 
ward course  on  leaving  Nova  Scotia,  as  the 
Northmen  and  many  others  did,  and  next 
sighted  Cape  Cod,  or  the  coast  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. That  he  discovered  Cape  Cod,  must 
be  regarded  as  certain,  and  likewise  the  oppo- 
site cape,  now  called  Cape  Ann ;  otherwise 
he  could  not  have  known  that  the  water  in 
question  was  a  bay.  Whether  he  landed  or 
not,  he  does  not  say,  yet  this  is  very  probable. 
Still  he  distinctly  declares  that  he  did  not 
sail  to  the  end  of  it,  and  therefore  was  unable 
to  say  whether  it  extended  through  the  con- 
tinent to  India  or  not. 

Until  some  earlier  claimant  is  brought 
forward,  to  Jean  Allfonsce  must  be  awarded 
the  modern  discovery  of  Massachusetts  bay, 
hitherto  unanimously  assigned  to  Bartholo- 
mew Gosnold  in  his  voyage  of  1602.     The 


DISCOVERY  OP   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 


97 


proof  is  not  founded  upon  anything  shadowy 
or  doubtful,  but  is  scientific  and  circum- 
stantial. 

That  the  students  of  Massachusetts  history 
should  have  overlooked  the  account  of  this 
voyage,  is  noticeable  from  the  fact  that  for 
more  than  two  centuries  and  a  half  they 
could  have  read  the  account  in  English ; 
obscurely  packed  away  within  the  dusky 
tomes  of  Hakluyt,  but  surely  there,  in  the 
end  of  the  article  headed  : 

"  Here  foUoweth  the  course  from  Belle  Me, 
Carpont,  and  the  Grand  Biiy  in  Newfoiuid- 
huid  vp  the  riuer  of  Canada  for  the  space  of 
230  leagues,  obserued  by  John  Alphonse  of 
Xanctoir/ne,  chiefe  Pilote  to  Momieur  Rober- 
nal,  1542." 

The  language  of  Ilakluyt  runs  as  follows  : 

%\)t\t  (aiibei^  (i)C  oiicr  ai]aiiift  Xiu-taiic,  aiib  3 
hnibt  not  but  tljat  tf;cij  ftrctcfj  toiuarb  5l[ia, 
accorbiiuj  to  tfjc  romibiicffe  of  t(jc  lurrlb.  51iib 
t()crefove  it  lucuc  i^oob  to  Ijaiic  a  [mad  I'ljippc  of 


! 


98        DISCOVEUY   OF   MASSACUUSETTS   UAV. 


70  UuuKis  to  bifcouci:  tl)c  coiift  of  ^Jfeio  Jsrniicc 
oil  tf)c  biufc  fibc  of  Aloribn:  for  3  ()auc  bene  (\i  a 
33ni)  (i^  fiU'iT  lU^  42  benrcci^  betiuccnc  *!)lonnnbci]n 
nub  ?S'(oribn,  nub  C>  Ijouc  not  fciu'd)cb  tl)c  cube, 
iinb  5  fiioiu  not  loljctfjci'  it  paffc  t()i'oiirt(). 
{Ihklunt,  vol.  Ill,  p.  239,  t'd.  1000). 

This  narrative  of  Jean  AlUbiisce  was,  per- 
haps, extracted  by  llakluyt  from  one  of  the 
mutilated  versions  of  his  Avork  already  alluded 
to,  and  was  placed  thus  early  within  the 
reach  of  English-reading  students,  by  Avhom  it 
has  uniformly  been  overlooked,  which  shows 
how  little  Ilakluyt's  work  is  really  read.^ 

It  will  be  perceived  by  a  comparison  of  Hak- 
luyt's  version  with  the  copy  made  from  the 


'  The  same  remark  also  applies  to  Purchas.  So  long 
ago  as  the  date  of  the  publication  of  Middle's  Ctihot,  that 
author  essayed,  by  a  reference  to  Purchas,  to  stop  the 
complaints  of  such  men  as  Dr.  Jjardner  and  the  Edin- 
burgh encyclopaedists,  who  lamented  that  nothing  was 
known  of  the  voyage  of  John  Kut  (1527).  except  what 
was  told  in  Hakluyt.  Yet,  so  far  as  that  point  was  con- 
cerned, lUddle  used  his  ink  very  much  in  vain,  since  a 


'H 


DISCOVERY   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   HAT. 


99 


orifrinal  manuscript,  that  the  Englishman  is 
vi'vy  faulty,  as  Allfonsce  says  nothing  about 
*'  the  coast  of  New  France  on  the  ])ack  side 
oi'  Florida,"  a  remark  having  no  applicahility 
to  the  case.' 


si:  irt  time  a<^o  a  well  known,  industrious,  and  l.ijjlily 
ri'sppctaltlc  New  V  i<rland  writer,  treated  the  suljact  of 
Itut's  voya<j;e  in  the  utter  unconsciousness  of  the  fact 
tliat  Purchas  had  jfivcu  a  hiter  and  more  correct  version. 
See  fintr,  p.  .50. 

'  If  we  had  the  whole  work  of  Allfonsce  at  hand  with 
which  to  conipare  the  "extract  j!;iven  hy  Haklu^t.  we 
should  prohably  find  many  errors  of  the  same  1  ind. 
MarL'ry,  in  his  Ndvii/ntionit  Franrahrit  (p.  326),  exhibits 
one  of  a  most  ridiculous  character.  Ilakluyt  write i  on 
till'  sMUie  piire  already  quotod  from  (239)  as  follows: 

"  3^i>  tbc  nature  of  tl)c  ch'mate  tbc  \a\m  tomarc  .^c^c* 
hiivi  arc  ftill  better  ant  better,  ant  more  frui'tfull.  ?Int 
tblc*  lant  v^  fit  for  %ic\C[,t^  ant  'Pearei?.  9lnt  .'^  tbinfc 
tbat  iioltf  ant  ftUter  a^lll  be  fount  here,  aecorttng  asS  tl)e 
)5coplc  of  the  rountre»  fai)/' 

Here  Ilakluyt  mangles  Allfonscc's  words  so  as  to  m  ike 
him  say  that  Ji<jk  fjrew  in  Canada,  and  chanj^es  Peru 
(  Prron)  into  pears  ;  whereas  A.llfonsce,  as  JIargry  testi- 
fies, simply  meant  to  say  that  the  land  of  the  "  Fig  Tree  " 
oxtended  northward  to  this  region.  By  the  Fig  Tree 
was  meaut  a  cape  uf  Yiicnfan.    It  will  therefore  be  seen 


100     DISCOVERY  OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 

Dr.  Kohl  refers  to  Jean  Allfonsce  in  his 
work  (p.  344),  in  connection  with  the  voy- 
ages of  Cartier,  and  says  that  Ilakhiyt  gives 
"excellent  sailing  directions  for  the  gulf  and 
river  of  St.  Lawrence  made  by  this  navigator," 
all  the  while  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  he 
actually  gave  a  notice  of  a  voyage  down  the 
New  England  coast  to  Massachusetts  ba}'^, 
worth  infinitely  more  for  his  purpose  than 
any  reference  that  he  has  given.  Indeed, 
this  is  the  only  positive  account,  in  the 
original  statement,  that  we  now  know  of  a 


!  I 


thcit  Ilakluyt's  version  cannot  be  trusted  at  all,  and  that 
it  is  very  likely  that  with  these  "  excellent  sailing  direc- 
tions," as  Dr.  Kohl  styles  them,  the  sailor  would  be  liable 
to  come  to  grief.  The  original  work,  in  the  Imperial 
Library  at  Paris,  no  doubt  deserves  the  commendation. 
M.  Davezac  says  that  he  has  seen  a  perfect  copy  made 
by  Margry  with  his  own  hand,  which  at  one  time  the 
latter  intended  to  publish  in  full.  The  original  language 
of  Allfonsce  stands  thus  :  "  Leu  terrcs  allant  vera  Iloche- 
laga  sont  de  beaucoup  metlhnres  et  plus  chauhlcs  que 
ccUes  (la  Canada  et  ticnt  cefta  terre  de  Ilochclaga  an  F!<juitr 
et  au  PeroUy  en  laquelle  abonde  or  et  argent." 


DISCOVERY  OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAT.      101 


voyage  to  any  particular  spot  on  the  New 
England  coast  during  that  long  period  inter- 
vening between  the  days  of  the  Northmen 
and  the  date  of  the  charter  of  Gilbert,  a 
period  that  Dr.  Kohl  has  vainly  endeavored 
to  make  interesting  in  connection  with  the 
coast  of  Maine.  After  reciting  unreal  visits 
to  the  coast  of  Maine  by  the  Northmen,  John 
Rut,  Verrazano,^  Tlievet  and  others,  it  is 
surprising  to  find  Jean  Allfonsce  left  out  of 
the  account.^      This  we  must  conclude  was 


'  The  reference  here  is,  of  course,  to  the  alleged  visit 
of  Verrazano  in  1527,  in  company  with  Rut,  at  a  time 
when  the  Florentin  had  probably  been  executed.  Con- 
ceding, as  tlie  author  is  free  to,  the  voyage  made  by  that 
navigator  on  the  American  coast,  in  1524,  we  still  know 
nothing  of  the  particular  regions  seen  after  leaving  the 
harbor  of  New  York,  or,  perhaps,  I  should  add,  the 
hiir])or  of  Newport  also.  The  mention  of  islands  would 
seem  to  indicate  an  acquaintance  with  the  jNIaine  coast 
derived  either  from  personal  observation  or  the  relations 
of  others. 

2  The  reference  to  the  voyage  of  Maldonado  is  in 
general  torms,  like  the  statement  of  the  voyage  of  Cabot 
and  others  along  the  American  coast.    Dr.  Kohl  remarks  : 


: 


102     DISCOVERT   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 

because  he  was  unacquainted  with  his  achiev- 
raent. 

It  would  be  very  gratifying  if  we  were 
able  to  fix  the  precise  date  of  this  voyage, 
yet  this  is  impossible.  AUfonsce  mentions 
the  subject  in  the  most  modest  manner,  little 
dreaming  that  his  excursion  down  the  coast 
was  of  any  consequence  at  all,  unless,  indeed, 
the  bay  mentioned  should  prove  to  be  an 
opening  through  the  continent.  His  general 
account  of  this  region  in  which  his  voyage  is 


"  The  principal  account  of  this  voyage  is  given  by 
Garcilaso  de  '.i  Vega,  who  says  that  Maldonado,  in  1540, 
having  explored  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  ^lexico  for  his 
absent  chief  without  success,  extended  his  search  in 
154:1,  with  his  companion,  Gomez  Arias,  along  the 
eastern  coast  as  far  as  the  country  of  Bacallaos"  (p. 
410).  He  also  says  :  "  That  this  expedition  in  1541,  '  as 
far  as  the  IJacallaos,'  must  have  involved  a  thorough  search 
of  our  coast,  may  also  be  inferred  from  the  circumstance, 
that  Maldonado,  in  1542-1543,  returned  directly  to  the 
gulf,  visiting  again  our  east  coast"  (p.  410).  lie  would, 
therefore,  have  us  believe  that  Maldonado  went  to  Maine, 
yet  of  this  wo  have  no  account,  nor  do  we  know  what 
region  is  meant  by  the  writer. 


mm 


DISCOVERY   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY.     103 


mentioned,  was  written  in  1542,  though  we 
do  not  know  in  what  month.  And  since  we 
do  not  hear  anything  of  a  voyage  prior  to 
this,  made  as  the  pilot  of  Roberval,  we  natu- 
rally ask  if  it  was  made  in  the  summer  of 
this  year. 

We  find  that  the  expedition  left  Rochelle 
April  16,  1042,  and  arrived  at  St.  John's, 
Newfoundland,  June  8th,  where  they  re- 
mained until  the  close  of  the  month  before 
proceeding  to  Quebec.  Ten  or  twelve  days 
would  have  been  ample  for  such  an  excursion 
with  one  of  the  vessels,  yet  it  is  not  men- 
tioned, though  the  next  year  they  made  an 
effort  to  explore  the  Saguenay.  It  is  also 
told,  though  not  in  the  relation  of  Hakluyt, 
which  gives  the  account  of  Roberval's  expe- 
dition, that  AUfonsce  was  sent  to  seek  a 
north-west  passage.  Charlevoix  testifies  on 
this  point,  and  Father  Leclerc  mentions  it 
wth  equal  explicitness.  Says  the  latter,  as 
(juoted  by  Margry  [Navigations  Fran gaises,  p. 


104     DISCOVERY   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 


321).  "The  Sire  Roberval  writes  that  he 
undertook  some  considerable  voyages  to  the 
Saguenay,  and  severil  other  rivers.  It  was 
he  who  sent  Allfonsce,  a  very  expert  pilot 
{pilote  tres-expert)  of  Saintonge,  to  Labrador 
in  order  to  find  a  passage  to  the  East  Indies, 
as  was  hoped.  But  not  being  able  to  carry 
out  his  design,  on  account  of  the  mountains 
of  ice  that  stopped  his  passage,  he  was  obliged 
to  return  to  M.  de  Roberval  wuth  only  this 
advantage,  of  having  discovered  the  passage 
which  is  between  the  isle  of  the  New-land 
and  the  great  Land  of  the  North  by  the  52d 
degree." 

This  northern  voyage  is  not  mentioned  by 
Ilakluyt,  though  he  speaks  of  the  Saguenay 
expedition.  When,  therefore,  did  this  expe- 
dition to  the  north  of  Labrador  take  place  ? 
This  question  is  asked,  for  the  reasOn  that  it 
has  a  bearing  upon  the  main  point  being  con- 
sidered, namely,  the  voyage  to  Massachusetts 
bay. 


DISCOVERY   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAT.     105 


Now  we  may  regard  it  as  certain  that  Rober- 
val  did  not  send  Allfonsce  on  this  voyage  at  a 
time  when  he  had  but  one  vessel  left,  for  he 
would  need  a  ship  for  his  own  safety ;  and 
yet  after  the  autumn  of  1542  he  was  left 
with  a  single  ship,  as  at  that  time  he  dis- 
patched two  of  his  three  ships  to  France. 
Tlierelbre  it  follows,  that  the  voyage  in 
search  of  a  passage  beyond  Labrador  was 
made  in  the  summer  of  1542,  when  three 
^•hips  were  ready  for  employment.  This 
being  so,  it  is  reasonable  to  infer  that,  failing 
in  his  trip  around  Labrador,  Jean  Allfonsce 
may  then,  if  not  while  the  expedition  delayed 
at  St.  John's,  in  June,  have  run  down  the 
coast  to  latitude  forty-two,  where  he  found 
himself  at  last  locked  within  the  outreaching 
capes  that  stand  on  either  side  of  the  mouth 
of  Massachusetts  bay. 

Here  then  wf  have  two  occasions  during 

the  summer  of  1542,  when  he  might  easily 

have  made  the  voyage ;  and  since  we   hear 
14 


lOG     DISCOVERY   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 

of  no  other  voyage  made  by  him  to  the 
northern  part  of  this  continent,  it  is  reason- 
able to  infer  that  the  discovery  was  made  in 
the  year  alluded  to. 

Why  he  did  not  push  on  to  the  bottom  of 
the  bay  is  not  told.  lie  would  probably 
have  done  so,  however,  if  some  exigency  had 
not  prevented,  as  was  the  case  with  Verra- 
zano,  when,  in  1624,  he  was  driven  away  by 
the  violence  of  the  wind  from  the  bay  of 
New  York. 

At  all  events  it  is  certain  that  this  voyage 
was  made  during  some  visit  to  the  region  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  that  up  to  the  year 
1542  he  had  never  run  the  American  coast 
beyond  latitude  42'  N. 

The  supposition  that  he  had  sailed  to  the 
north  prior  to  his  voyage  with  Roberval  is 
also,  at  the  same  time,  perfectly  reasonable, 
and  the  fact  no  such  voyage  is  mentioned 
is  nothing  whatever  against  the  perform- 
ance.     We    learn    from    Melin    Saint-Gelais 


DISCOVERT   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAI.     107 

that  Allfonsce  followed  the  sea  for  forty- 
one  years ; '  an  1  since  his  death  took 
place  in  1549,  at  the  least  we  have  a  period 
of  thirty-four  years  devoted  to  maritime  life 
prior  to  1542.  Nevertheless,  in  the  absence 
of  positive  proof,  Ave  may  be  allowed  to  assign 
the  summer  of  1542  as  the  date  of  the  dis- 
covery of  Massachusetts  bay. 

Of  the  general  actions  of  Allfonsce  while 
ill  the  expedition  of  Roberval,  we  have  no 
account,  though  Ilakluyt  (vol.  iii,  p.  240,  ed. 
IGOO),  says  :  "  There  is  a  pardon  to  be  scene 
for  the  pardoning  of  Monsieur  de  saine  terre. 
Lieutenant  of  the  sayd  Monsieur  de  Roherual 
giuen  in  Canada  in  presence  of  the  sayde 
John  Alphonse" 

Of  the  events  in  the  life  of  Jean  Allfonsce 
we  know  but  little,  nor  is  this  so  remarkable, 
considering  the  fact  that  he  lived  in  an  age 
when  one  of  his  patrons,   the  Prince    Pen- 


'  Diivczac  makes  the  time  forty-eight  yeara. 


108     DISCOVERY  OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAT. 


tagruel,  was  largely  lost  to  sight,  and  is 
now,  even,  scarcely  remembered,  except  by 
antiquarians.  The  date  of  his  birth  is  not 
given,  though  we  learn  the  place  of  his  na- 
tivity from  the  wretched  edition  of  his  Hi/- 
droijraphy,  published  in  1559.  Indeed, 
Margry  remarks  [NavUjatioiis  Frangaises,  p. 
226),  that  this  is  the  only  thing  of  value  in 
the  book,  which,  otherwise,  might  just  as  well 
have  never  been  printed.  The  village  of 
Saintonge,  in  the  canton  of  Cognac,  in  France, 
enjoys  the  honor,  though  Portuguese  writers 
have  claimed  him  for  their  nation,  in  whose 
ships  he  served  for  a  time  in  voyages  to  Brazil. 

In  1528,  we  find  him  in  a  prison  of  Poi- 
tiers, where  he  was  confined  by  royal  orders, 
because,  as  .dleged,  he  presumed  to  carry 
himself  with  as  much  haughtiness  as  the 
king.  His  death  must  have  taken  place 
some  time  between  1547  and  1549. 

The  Hydrography  of  Allfonsce  also  shows 
the  most  convincing  proofs  of  his  origin.     In 


DISCOVERY   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY.     109 

the  course  of  his  work,  he  reveals  the  national 
pride  by  extolling  beautiful  France  above  all 
the  countries  of  the  earth,  representing  that 
country  as  the  home  of  all  elegance  and  great- 
ness, and  as  specially  renowned  for  science, 
literature,  enterprise,  commerce  and  art. 

His  eulogist,  Melin  Saint-Gelais,*  was  also 
a  Frenchman,  and  the  friend  of  Marot  and 
Rabelais.  His  poem  of  fourteen  lines,  in 
praise  of  the  renowned  pilot,  stands  in  the 
original,  and  very  imperfect,  abridgement  of 
his  work. 


'  Melln  (Je  Snlnt-Gclais  was  the  son  of  the  bishop  of 
Aiigouleuie,  a  man  of  some  distinction  both  as  a  poet 
and  an  ecclesiastic.  The  date  of  his  birth  is  not  given, 
tliDUgh  it  is  stated  that  he  was  educated  at  Padua  and 
Poitiers,  and  became  an  ecclesiastic.  He  cultivated  lite- 
rature to  a  large  extent,  and  joined  Rabelais  in  his  oppo- 
sition to  the  poet  llonsard  at  the  court  of  King  Henry 
II  of  France.  Eventually  his  feelings  changed,  and  he 
became  a  warmly  attached  friend  to  Kousard.  Saint- 
Gelais  wrote  both  in  Latin  and  French,  and  is  known  as 
tlie  author  of  elegies,  satires,  epigrams,  sonnets  and  epistles. 
lie  died  in  1559. 


110     DISCOVERY   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 


The  high  character  of  Jean  Allfonsce  as  a 
pilot  and  a  hydrographer  is  conceded ;  and, 
while  his  works  are  not  free  from  faults,  it  is 
clear  that  he  was  conversant  with  the  nau- 
tical knowledge  of  his  times,  and  that  he  was 
fully  abreast  of  the  very  best  pilots  as 
respects  all  things  connected  with  his  pro- 
fession. 

As  already  intimated,  he  was  a  man  of 
lofty  spirit,  and,  while  ardently  attached  to 
his  native  land,  he  did  not  fear  to  compare 
the  government  of  China  with  that  to  which 
he  was  subject,  and  to  declare  that,  in  respect 
to  its  power  to  confer  happiness,  it  was  not 
behind  the  institutions  of  France ;  an  opinion 
that  leads  his  sincere  admirer  and  apprecia- 
tive critic,  Pierre  Margry,  to  suggest  that  he 
had  seen  Utopia.  But  perhaps  M.  Margry  is 
a  monarcJiist. 

Had  Allfonsce  lived  in  our  own  day,  he 
would  have  been  an  ardent  assertor  of  the 
rights  of  the  people  against  the  claims  of  the 


DISCOVERT  OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY.     Ill 

crown ;  and,  for  ought  wo  know,  his  visit  to 
the  prison  of  Poitiers  may  have  been  occa- 
sioned as  much  by  the  inilexibility  of  his 
principles  as  by  the  haughtiness  of  his  spirit. 

At  all  events  it  appears  that  Jean  Allfonsce 
was  in  advance  of  the  people  of  his  nation, 
and  that  he  openly  declared  himself  in  favor 
(if  an  aristocratic  republic  like  that  of  Venice 
in  the  grand  old  days  when  her  free  senators 
sat  in  princely  state,  and  sent  forth  stern 
decrees  from  their  lordly  hall.  Nor  is  it 
altogether  an  unhappy  circumstance  that  the 
first  recorded  visit  to  the  shores  of  liberty- 
loving  Massachusetts  should  have  been  made 
by  a  mariner  of  this  lofty  stamp,  and  a  pilot 
of  the  Prince  Pentagruel. 

Whether  the  course  of  Jean  Allfonsce 
carried  him  to  the  coast  of  Maine  we  cannot 
say,  yet  this  is  altogether  very  likely.  But  if 
so,  we  at  present  have  no  knowledge  of  the 
fact,  and  thus  Maine  is  left  again  without  the 
coveted  mention.     Yet  light  may  come. 


;  ! 


112     DISCOVERY   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 


We  have  now,  in  closing,  to  give  a  notice 
of  Jean  Allfbnsce  in  connection  with  the 
unworthy  abridgments  of  liis  work,  an  ac- 
count of  which  will  nevertheless  prove  both 
of  interest  and  value  to  bibliographers.  Pro- 
bably not  a  single  copy  of  either  of  the  works 
mentioned  has  found  its  way  to  America. 
M.  Margry,  it  appears,  has  not  yet  carried 
into  execution  his  plan  by  which,  as  M. 
Davezac  intimates  in  the  following  article, 
the  w^ork  of  Allfonsce  was  to  appear  entire. 
What  he  has  given  is,  nevertheless,  lar  more 
valuable  than  anything  produced  before. 

The   article   referred    to   by  M.   Davezac, 
appears  in  Bulletin  du  GeotjrapJiie,  1857,  tome 


II,  p.  oU 


We  give  it  entire. 


Jean  Allfonsce  de  Saintonge. 

"  It  has  occurred  more  than  once  to  the 
Portuguese  nation  to  claim  historically  as  its 
own  those  men  whom  the  exclusive  and 
jealous   policy  of  this  people  had  formerly 


DISCOVERY   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   HAY.     113 


tried  to  retain  or  call  into  its  sorvico,  on 
account  of  tho  exporionce  they  had  aec^iiirof^ 
in  voyages  to  foroij^n  hinds.  This,  it  seems 
to  us,  has  been  the  case  witii  the  Spaniard, 
.hull  D'uiz  de  Sol'm,  of  Astnrian  origin,  and 
declared  a  native  of  Lebrija,  even  by  tbose 
who  had  tJie  means  of  becoming  the  best  in- 
formed. 

■'  Thus  it  has  been  with  the  Frenchman, 
Jean  Allefonsce  (thus  he  wrote  his  name) 
(le  Saintoiige,  the  excellent  pilot  whom 
Koberval  had  with  him  in  his  expedition  to 
Canada,  which  left  Rochelle  April  16,  1542. 
and  was  brought  back  to  France  two  years 
afterwards   by   Jacques   Cartier.^      llakluyt 


'  This  hardly  gives  a  right  view  of  the  case.  Ro- 
Ittirvai's  expedition  was  brmight  back  by  ('artier,  and 
by  the  knight  bimsolf.  Cartier's  expedition  was  a 
fxirl  of  Iloberval's  whicli  was  dispatched  tlie  year  before, 
as  Koberval  was  not  then  ready  to  sail  himself.  Cartier 
was  second  in  couunand,  and  in  June,  of  15 12,  he  was 
returning  with  his  ships  to  France  from  Canada,  where 
lit'  hud  passed  a  winter,  and  met  Roberval  in  the  harbor 
15 


Il4      DISCOVERY  OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 

has  preserved  '  An  excellent  Ruttier  showing 
the  course  from  Bell-Isle,  Carpont  and  the 
Grand  Bay  up  the  river  of  Canada  for  the 
space  of  230  leagues,  observed  by  John  Al- 
phonse,  of  Xanctoigne,  chiefe  pilote  to  Mon- 
sieure  iioberval,  1542.' 


of  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  and  endeavored  to  persuade 
him  to  return  to  France,  on  account  of  the  dangers  and 
the  hopelessness  of  the  expedition.  Failing  in  this,  he 
inglorioiisly  s*^ole  out  of  the  harbor  in  the  night,  and 
sailed  for  France.  Roberval,  on  the  contrary,  pushed 
forward  about  the  close  of  the  month  up  the  St.  Law- 
rence and  wintered  at  Quebec,  returning  to  France  with 
his  last  r  mainiug  ship  in  the  autumn  of  1544.  It  is 
told  that,  in  1547,  he  attempted  another  expedition, 
and  perished  by  shipwreck  with  all  his  company. 

This  is  the  way  Hakluyt  put  >  it,  but  other  accounts 
make  it  appear  that  Cartier  came  out  in  1543,  and  in 
1544  took  back  to  France  some  remnant  of  his  expedition. 
Mr.  Shea  observes  in  ^  s  Charlevoix  (vol  I,  p.  129), 
that  his  own  author,  like  Champlain,  Le  Clerq  and 
others,  seem  to  have  been  unacquainted  with  Hakluyt's 
account.  Most  of  the  works  on  Canada  are  more  or  less 
confused  so  far  as  regards  the  expedition  of  Roberval. 
This  shows  again  how  important  statements  in  writers  of 
his  class  may  long  lie  unnoticed  and,  practically,  unknown. 


DISCOVERY   OF    MASSACHUSETTS    BAY.     115 

''Futher  Charlevoix,  whose  veracity  is 
usually  held  in  moderate  esteem,  in  his  Ilis- 
tory  of  New  France,  says,  in  a  passage,  the 
exactness  of  which  in  other  respects  may  be 
acknowledged,  that  Roberval  'sent  one  of 
his  pilots  named  Alphonse,  born  in  Portugal, 
according  to  sorue,  and  in  Gallica  according 
to  others,  to  seek  above  Newfoundland  a  way 
to  the  East  Indies.' 

"  This  nationalit}'^,  beyond  the  Pyrenees, 
might  have  been  based  thoughtlessly  on  the 
name  Xanctoigne,  printed  in  Hakluyt,  and 
which  might  have  been  taken  for  that  of  the 
Spanish  city  of  Santona,  a  little  port  on  the 
coast  of  Asturies,  instead  of  recognizing  in 
the  same,  as  is  proper,  not,  indeed,  the 
French  province  of  Saintonge  as  is  commonly 
supposed,  but  a  village  or  district  [payus)  of 
the  same  name  near  Cognac. 

"A  sure  and  precise  indication  of  the 
French  origin  of  our  pilot  is  afforded  in  a 
little  work  presenting  a  general  portulani  of 


I 


IIG     DISCOVERY   OF   MASSACIIi:SETTS   BAY. 

the  then  known  world,  published  for  the  firs' 
time  by  Jean  de  Marnef,  to  whom  Mellin  do 
Saint-Gelais  had  remitted  a  copy  thereof, 
difficult  to  be  had  since  the  death  of  the 
skillful  mariner,  as  a  preliminary  advertise- 
ment of  the  publisher  makes  it  known  printed 
on  the  back  of  the  frontispiece.  The  work 
has  for  a  title  Les  Yoycujes  Avautureux  ihi 
Capltalne  Jan  AJfonce  SainctoiKjeois.  It  is  a 
little  volume  in  quarto  numbering  sixty-eight 
leaves,  without  date,  having  appended  thereto 
several  pages  of  ciphers  of  tables  of  the  de- 
clension of  the  sun,  put  in  by  order  of  Oliver 
Bisselin,  '  and  the  printing  thereof  finished 
by  the  end  of  the  month  of  April,  in  the 
year  1550.'  On  the  verso  of  the  sixty-eighth 
and  last  leaf,  is  to  be  read  this  epilogue : 
'  End  of  the  present  book,  composed  and 
ordered  by  Jan  Alphonce,  an  experienced 
pilot  in  the  things  narrated  in  this  book,  a 
native  of  the  country  of  Xainctonge,  near 
the  city  of  Cognac.     Done  at  the  request  of 


DISCOVERY   OP   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY.     117 


Vincent  Ayniard,  merchant  of  the  country  of 
Piedmont,  Maugis  Vumenot,  merchant  of 
lloiilleur,  writing  for  him.' 

"  This  hist  mention  reveals,  to  all  appear- 
ances, the  real  author  of  this  abridged  and 
unfaithful  edition,  which  through  error,  Bru- 
net  ascribes  to  Saint-Gelais  himself.  This  is 
not  the  only  inadvertency  of  the  learned 
bibliographer.  He  seemed  to  find  in  the 
preliminary  .advertisement  of  Jan  de  Marnef 
to  the  Reader,  the  certain  indication  that 
Mellin  de  Saint-Gelais  was  still  living  at  the 
unexpressed  date  of  the  earliest  edition,  and 
he  concludes  thereupon  that  this  edition  is 
anterior  to  October,  1558,  the  time  of  the 
death  of  the  Saintongeois  poet.  It  was 
suificient,  however,  to  read  the  following 
page,  which  faces  a  sonnet  signed  Sc.  de  S.  M. 
(evidently  Scevole  de  Salnt-Marthe) ,  addressed 
particularly  To  the  Shade  of  Saingelais,  to 
be  assured,  on  the  contrary,  of  the  exactness 
of  the  date  of  1559,  which  is  to  be  found  at 


118     DISCOVERY   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 

the  end  of  the  annexed  tables  devoted  to 
Bisselin.  It  is  true  that  certain  copies  showed 
on  the  back  of  the  frontispiece,  instead  of  the 
advertisement  of  Marnef,  the  royal  privilege, 
dated  March  7,  1557,  but  it  is  immediately 
followed  by  the  mention,  'printing  finished 
May,  2,  1559.'  There  can  remain  no  doubt 
on  this  point. 

"Besides  the  original  edition  in  quarto, 
which  we  have  just  pointed  out,  there  exists 
another  of  the  same  size,  brought  out  at 
Rouen  in  1578,  by  Thomas  Mallard,  having 
also  the  tables  of  Bisselin,  but  without  the 
pieces  of  verse  in  honor  of  AUefonsce,  which 
are  to  be  seen  at  the  head  of  the  first  edition. 
Still  another  edition  of  Paris,  1598,  octavo,  is 
mentioned. 

"  M.  Leon  Oenrln  who  in  his  Navigateurs 
Frangais  has  given  a  notice  of  Allephonsce  de 
Saintongeois,  has  inserted  in  the  same  a  gene- 
ral analysis  of  the  volume. 


jW^JlLi^ 

jj 

DISCOVERT   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY.     119 


"  Les  Voyages  Avantureux  de  Jan  Alfonce, 
written  by  Maugis  Vumenot,  no  more 
than  the  Excellent  ruttier,  translated  by 
Richard  Hakluyt,  can  be  considered  as  good 
specimens  of  the  original  work  of  this  pilot, 
preserved  in  manuscript  in  the  Imperial  Li- 
brary at  Paris,  and  which  has  already  been 
pointed  out  by  Antoine  de  Leon  Plnello  in  his 
Oriental  and  Occidental  Library,  a  sort  of 
bibliographical  work,  to  be  used  with  caution, 
but  full  of  useful  information.  This  manu- 
script forms  a  volume  in  folio,  entitled  Cos- 
mofjraphie,  and  is  dedicated  to  King  Francis 
I.  It  presents  a  text  quite  extensive,  in 
which  it  intercalates  the  successive  draughts 
of  the  coasts  that  are  described  therein.  M. 
Pierre  Margry,  who  intends  to  comprise  it 
in  the  collection  of  documents  which  he  is 
preparing,  to  be  called  Les  Origines  Histori- 
ques  de  la  France  d'outre-mer,  and  who  has 
shown  us  a  copy  of  the  same  entirely  in  his 
own   hand,  has   ground    for   declaring   that 


120     DISCOVERY   OE   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 


the  edition  of  Mawjia  Vumenot  is  only  a 
worthless  abridgement;  and  the  fragment 
translated  by  Ilakluyt,  is  disfigured  through- 
out by  the  most  singular  mistakes. 

"  The  original  volume  ends  with  the  fol- 
lowing epilogue  :  '  End  of  the  Cosmography 
made  and  composed  by  us,  Jehan  Allefonsce 
and  Paulin  Secalart,  captains  and  pilots  of 
vessels  residing  in  the  city  of  Rochelle,  in 
the  Saint  Jehan  des  Pretz  street,  opposite  the 
church  of  the  said  Saint  Jehan,  the  24th  day 
of  the  month  of  November,  the  year  1545, 
finished  by  me,  Paulin  Secalart,  cosmographer 
of  Ilonfleur,  desiring  to  do  service  to  your 
Royal  Majesty,  which  will  be  the  end  of  the 
present  book  1545.' 

"  One  may  conjecture  from  these  indica- 
tions that  Jehan  Allefon.sce,  who  wrote  his  Cos- 
mograpliy  in  1544,  after  forty-eight  years  of 
navigation,  with  the  assistance  of  a  secretary, 
a  pilot  like  himself,  Paulin  Secalart,  poor  and 
loyal,  was  overtaken  by  death  before  having 


DISCOVERY   OF   MASSACHUSETTS   BAY.     121 


put  the  last  touch  to  his  work,  and  that  this 
very  PauUn  Secalart  of  Hontieur,  finished  it 
alone,  the  twenty-fourth  of  November  in  the 
very  house  where  they  stayed  together  in 
Rochelle. 

"  In  his  long  maritime  career,  Captain 
Jean  Allefonsce  sailed  in  Portuguese  vessels, 
having  in  particular  commanded  a  vessel 
belonging  to  Edoimrd  de  Paz.  He  had  na- 
turally received  from  the  ship  owners,  as  a 
nickname,  the  national  designation  oi  Francez^ 
which  M.  de  Vaimhar/en  has  taken  for  his  Por- 
tuguese family  name,  in  speaking  of  the  royal 
letters  of  safe-conduct  in  favor  of  the  s-aid 
'  Joannis  Affotisi  Francez  qui  erat  expertus  in 
viwjiisad  Brasiliarias  insulas,'  whom  they  tried 
to  recall,  and  to  whom  was  promised  that  he 
should  not  be  sought  again  or  prosecuted  by 
virtue  of  the  laws  framed  against  those  mar- 
iners who  abandoned  Portugal  to  take  service 

in   foreign    countries,    or    who    abandoned, 
10 


i 


122     niSOOVERY   OF    MASSACHUSETTS   BAY. 


without  leave,  the  Portuguese  possessions  in 
America. 

"  When  calling  to  mind  with  what  savage 
rigor  the  Portuguese  government  of  that  time 
dealt  with  the  foreigners  who  dared  to  violate 
what  it  called  its  exclusive  rights  by  con- 
quest, one  easily  conceives  that  letters  of 
safe-conduct  were  indispensable  for  foreigners 
as  well  as  natives  who  consented  to  return  to 
Portugal.  Offers  of  this  nature  do  not  by 
any  means  imply  a  denial  of  the  Spanish 
nationality  of  Solis,  nor  the  French  nation- 
ality of  AUefonsce." 


T. 


sions  in 


;  savage 
lat  time 
)  violate 
by  con- 
tters  of 
reigners 
eturn  to 

not  by 
Spanish 

nation- 


APPENDIX. 


auti 
ami 
pres 

AlK 

hist 
mat 
has 
Anh 

II 
His 
to  / 
affe^ 
has 
posi 
tati( 

A 
vece. 
and 
autl 
very 
thoc 


A  P 1'  E  N  D  I  X  . 


T. 

l'ii<i;c  5. —  III  tlie  chapter  on  the  Northmen  the 
author  has  taken  Dr.  Kohl  on  his  own  ground, 
and  considered  the  force  of  each  particular  ex- 
prei^sioii  with  referetice  to  the  points  at  issue. 
And  in  this  use  of  the  language  of  the  Sagas  their 
historic  character  is  conceded.  Still,  the  right  to 
make  such  a  use  of  the  language  of  the  narratives 
has  been  questioned  b}'  a  writer  in  the  North 
American  Revkio  for  July,  1869. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Bancroft,  in  his 
History,  took  the  position  that  the  Sagas  relating 
to  America  were  mythological  in  form,  and  thus 
affected  to  dispose  of  them  very  cheaply.  He 
has  probably  regretted  it  many  times  since,  as  the 
position  in  question  is  so  unfavorable  to  a  repu- 
tation for  candor. 

And  now  the  writer  referred  to  comes  in  a 
recent  number  of  the  Revieto  above-mentioned, 
and,  in  the  course  of  a  long  article  upon  the 
author's  work  entitled  The.  Pre-Columbian  Disco- 
very of  America  by  tlhc  No)  hmen^  sets  forward  a  new 
theory  which  gives  the  Sagas  a  poetical  origin. 


iS 


i-ji; 


APPENDIX. 


Wliilo  scoiitiiii^  Mr.  IJaiicrol't'rt  inytlioloifii.'al 
view,  tlio  critic  u(loi)t.s  one  of  iiis  own  which  in 
but  little  hotter,  and  which  seeks  to  take  away 
the  plain  historical  character  of  the  writings  in 
question.  His  rather  novel  view  is,  that  the 
8aga8  originally  existed  in  the  form  of  popular 
ballads,  which  were  afterwards  reduced  to  prose, 
and  consequently  are  not  to  be  used  as  they  have 
been  by  Dr.  Kohl  and  the  author;  and  as  in  fact 
the  best  authorities  are  accustomed  to  use  thorn. 

Ilia  manner  of  proceeding  is  as  follows:  Turn- 
ing to  the  Ilehnskringla,  or  7%e  Sca-Khujs  of 
Norway,  by  Snorre  Sturleson,  ho  thinks  that  he 
finds  evidence  there  that  that  work  was  largely 
composed  from  ballads  and  old  songs.  Having 
settled  this,  he  repairs  to  the  Sagas  relating  to 
America,  and  claims  to  find  the  same  characteris- 
tics in  their  construction. 

He  errs,  however,  at  the  outset ;  for  his  declara- 
tion that  the  Heimskringla  was  largely  com- 
posed of  songs  is  flatly  denied  by  the  most 
competent  authority;  while,  if  his  assumption 
\oere  true,  he  would  not  be  justified  in  applying 
the  same  rule  to  the  American  Sagas,  which, 
internally,  show  no  signs  of  a  lyrical  origin,  any 
more  than  the  Landnama,  which  is  the  equivalent 
of  the  Dooms-day  Book,  and  yet  contains  poetical 
fragments.  A  ballad  incorporated  in  an  Icelandic 
Saga  affords  no  more  evidence  of  its  poetic  origin 


APPENDIX. 


127 


tliaii  rtoino  scrap  of  song  quoted  in  an  American 
liistory. 

It  is  very  gratifying  to  observe  what  general 
accei»tance  the  Sagas  have  ah-eady  gained,  as  well 
us  to  notice  the  ease  with  which  such  objections 
liiive  always  been  i)rushe(l  away,  especially  when 
HUii[)ortod  by  the  hand-book  learning  of  the  critic 
ill  the  North  American  Ueclew. 


II. 

Page  06. —  Having  expressed  the  belief  that 
Tlievct  gave  the  wrong  Indian  name  of  the  river 
Norumbega,  I  here  state  the  authority.  The  ori- 
ginal may  be  seen  on  page  403  of  Lescarbot's 
Nouvdle  France,  ed.  1()12.  The  following  is  from 
EroiidGlle's  translation   (ed.  1609,  page  46) : 

"Therefore  without  alleaging  that,  wliich  the 
first  writers  (Spaniards  and  Portingals)  hauesaid, 
I  will  recite  that  which  is  in  the  last  booke,  in- 
titled  The  Universal  Historie  of  the  West  Indies, 
Printed  at  Douay  the  lastyeere  1607,  in  the  place 
where  he  speaketh  of  Noromhega :  For  in  report- 
ing this,  I  shall  haue  also  said  that  which  the 
tirst  haue  written,  from  whom  they  haue  had  it. 

"  Moreouer,  towards  the  N'orth  (saith  the  Au- 
thor, after  he  had  spoken  of  Virginia)  "  is  Norom- 
hega, which  is  known  well  enough  by  reason  of 
a  faire  towne,  and  a  great  riuer,  though  it  is  not 
found  from  whence  it  hath  his  name :    for   the 


;i 


128 


APPENDIX. 


Barbarians  doe  call  it  Aggimcia:  at  the  mouth  of 
this  river  is  an  Island  very  fit  for  fishing.  The 
region  that  goeth  along  the  sea  doth  abound  in 
fish,  and  toward  !N'evv  France  there  ia  a  great 
number  of  wilde  beasts,  and  is  verie  commodious 
for  hunting;  the  inhabitance  doe  line  in  the  same 
maner  as  they  of  New  France."  If  this  beautifull 
Towne  hath  ever  beene  ir'  nature,  I  faine  would 
know  who  hath  pulled  it  doune:  For  there  is  but 
cabanes  here  and  th'cre  made  with  pearkes,  and 
couered  with  barkes  of  trees,  or  with  skinnes, 
and  both  the  river  and  the  place  inhabited  is 
called  Peniptegoet,  and  not  Agguncia.  The  riuer 
(sauing  the  tide)  is  scarce  as  the  riuer  of  Oyse. 
And  there  can  be  no  great  riuer  on  that  coast, 
because  there  are  not  lands  sufficient  to  produce 
them,  by  reason  of  the  great  riuer  of  Oinada 
which  runneth  like  this  coast,  and  is  not  foure- 
score  leagues  distant  from  that  place  in  crossing 
the  lands,  which  from  elsewhere  received  manie 
riuers  falling  from  those  parts  which  are  toward 
Noromhega :  At  the  entrie  whereof,  it  is  so  far 
from  hauing  but  one  Island,  that  rather  the  num- 
ber thereof  is  almost  infinite,  for  as  much  as  this 
riuer  enlarging  it  selfe  like  the  Greek  Lambda 
A,  the  mouth  whereof  is  all  full  of  isles,  whereof 
there  is  one  of  them  lying  very  farre  oft'  (and  the 
foremost)  in  the  sea  [Mt.  Desert  ?]  which  is  high 
and  remarkable  aboue  the  others." 


i 


APPENDIX. 


129 


This  name,  Agguiicia,  therefore  came  from  the 
Spaniards  and  Portuguese,  from  whom  the  author 
([uoted  by  Lescarbot  took  it.  This  author  was 
Wytfliet,  whose  edition  of  Ptolemaicce  Auc/mentum 
of  1007,  contains  an  account  of  the  West  Indies. 
0!i  page  68  I  have  allowed  that  Wytfliet  copied 
11  few  lines  from  Thevet,  but  that  concession  was 
based  upon  the  edition  of  his  work  published  in 
1603.  The  edition  of  1607,  however,  is  more  full, 
and  shows  distinctly  that  Wytfliet,  as  Lescarbot 
indicates,  quoted  from  early  Spanish  and  Portu- 
guese writers.  From  this  source  Thevet  was  sup- 
plied with  his  own  false  information.  Than  this 
nothing  need  be  more  clear.  Thevet  was  also 
probably  acquainted  with  the  abstracts  of  Allfon- 
sce's  work  at  the  time  he  published  his  Cosmo- 
graphie.  The  monk  was  also  the  personal  friend 
of  Cartier,  Roberval,  and  Rabelais;  the  latter 
being,  in  turn,  the  friend  of  the  eulogist  of  Allfon- 
sce,  if  not  of  Allfonsce  himself.  With  such 
friends  at  command,  Thevet  could  easily  have 
written  on  the  subject  of  Norumbega :  yet  he 
had  no  excuse  for  writing  so  poorly. 

m. 

Page  78. —  In  the  paper  on  Thevet  I  have  dealt 
with  him  only  as  he  appears  in  his  Cosmographie ; 
yet  it  must   be  remembered   that   his  Antarctic 
17 


4 


180 


APPENDIX. 


France  covers  the  same  alleged  voyage  along  the 
-American  coast  to  Labrador.  This  w^ork  was 
published  in  1558,  but  it  differs  from  the  first 
mentioned,  inasmuch  as  it  has  nothing  to  say 
about  Norumbega,  of  which  region  Thevet  at 
that  time  knew  nothing.  And  still,  according  to 
his  Cosmofjraphie,  published  in  1675,  he  made  a 
voyage  to  the  coast  of  Norumbega  in  1556.  It  is 
therefore  plain  thai  his  account  was  derived  from 
the  relations  of  others,  to  which  he  found  access 
at  a  later  time.  These  accounts  were  by  those 
writers  to  whom  Lescarbot  alludes. 

Whoever  takes  up  his  Antarctic  France  wi' 
jierceive  that  Thevet  appears  to  be  describing  an 
imaginary   tour  to   a  great    extent,  and  that  he 
employs  his  peculiar  method  in  order  to  excite 
interest. 

After  leaving  Brazil, he  takes  the  reader  to  the 
coast  of  Mexico,  and  then  in  imagination,  sends 
him  through  the  straits  of  Darien  to  Peru, 
not  knowing  that  a  ship  would  there  encounter 
the  firm  land.  After  describing  Peru,  he  returns 
to  Florida,  and,  in  order  to  prolong  his  voyage 
to  Labrador,  invents  an  "unfavorable  wind." 
This  takes  him  to  every  part  of  the  nortli,  except 
Norumbega,  of  which  he  then  knew  nothing. 

In  a  word,  it  is  as  absurd  to  suppose  from 
Thevet's  accounts  that  he  visited  Maine,  as  to 
argue  that  he  visited  Africa,  Quebec  and  Peru. 


APPENDIX. 


131 


rv. 

Page  81. —  It  is  very  curious  that  in  Charle- 
voix we  find  an  account  of  Unipeds.  After  stat- 
ing the  story  related  by  a  St.  Malo  captain  to  the 
effect  that  the  well  known  Indian  Donnacona  told 
him  that  he  once  went  on  a  voyage  to  a  country 
where  he  saw  men  with  but  "  one  leg  and  thigh," 
ho  says : 

"It  is,  moreover,  very  strange  that  the  story  of 
one-legged  men  should  be  renewed  quite  recently 
by  a  young  Esquimaux  girl,  captured  in  1717, 
and  brought  to  Mr.  De  Courtemanche,  on  the 
coast  of  Labrador,  where  she  still  was  in  1720, 
when  I  reached  Quebec  *  *  Also  she 
said  that  among  her  countrymen  there  was  an- 
other kind  of  men,  who  had  only  one  leg,  one 
thigh,  and  a  very  large  foot,  two  hands  on  the 
same  arm,  a  broad  body,  a  flat  head,  small  eyes, 
scarcely  any  nose,  and  a  small  mouth ;  and  that 
they  were  always  in  a  bad  humor."  Shea's  Charle- 
voix, vol.  I,  p.  124-25. 


V. 

Page  99. — Misrepresentationsof  AUfonsce  have 
already  been  pointed  out,  but  it  is  proper  here  to 
cite  Lcscarbot,  and  explain  the  origin  of  his  views, 
which  have  done  the  French  captain  some  harm, 
in  the  estimation  of  those  not  couversaut  with  the 


.32 


APPENDIX. 


facts  of  the  case.      In  Evoiidelle  (page  47)  we 
read  as  follows : 

"  True  it  is  that  a  sea  Captaine,  named  lohn 
Affonse,  o(  A^aintoiu/c,  in  the  relationof  his  adven- 
turous voiages,  hath  written,  that  hauing  passed 
Saint  lohn's  Hand  (which  I  take  for  the  same 
that  I  haue  called  heeretofore  the  Isle  oi Bacaillos) 
"the  coast  turneth  to  the  West,  and  West  South- 
west, as  far  as  the  riuer  of  Norumbergu,  newly 
discovered  (saith  he)  by  the  Portugais  and  Span- 
iards, which  is  in  30  degrees :  adding  that  this 
riuer  hath,  at  the  entrie  thereof  many  lies,  bankes 
and  rockes,  and  that  fifteen  or  twenty  leagues 
within  it  is  built  a  great  towne  where  the  people 
be  small  and  blackish  like  them  of  the  Indies, 
and  are  clothed  with  skinnes  whereof  they  haue 
abundance  of  all  sorts.  Item  that  the  bank  of 
NewFoundliuid  endeth  there  :  and  that  tlie  riuer 
being  passed,  the  coast  turneth  to  the  West  and 
West  Northwest,  aboue  250  leagues  towards  a 
countrie  where  there  is  both  townes  and  castels." 
But  I  see  very  little  or  no  truth  at  all  in  all  the 
discourses  of  this  man  ;  and  well  may  he  call  his 
voiges  adventurous,  not  for  him,  who  was  never 
in  the  hundreth  part  of  the  places  he  describeth 
(at  least  it  is  easy  so  to  thinke)  but  for  those  that 
will  follow  the  wais  which  he  willeth  mariners 
to  follow.  For  if  the  said  riuer  of  Norombega  be 
in  thirty  degrees,  it  must  needs  be  in  Florida, 


APPENDIX. 


133 


wliich  is  contrarie  to  all  of  them  that  have  ever 
written  of  it,  and  to  the  verie  truth  itselfe."  {Les- 
carboCs  Nouvdle  France,  p.  495).  Now  this  might 
at  first  seem  conclusive,  yet  we  must  remember 
that  it  is  not  Allfonsce  that  he  quotes  from  but 
the  travesty  upon  his  Hydrography,  worked  up 
with  spicy  additions,  and  alterations  after  his 
death.  The  removal  of  Norumbega  to  the  lati- 
tude of  30°  N.,  is  only  equaled  by  Ilakluyt's 
blunder  by  which  he  makes  the  pilot  speak  of 
the  region  of  St.  Lawrence  as  a  country  produc- 
mgfigs. 

But  if  Allfonsce  had  actually  written  in  this  way 
in  regard  to  Norumbega  and  the  region  in  gene- 
ral, he  certainly  would  have  been  entitled  to  no 
credit;  yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  Lescar- 
bot  really  knew  nothing  of  this  navigatoi',  who  is 
not  at  all  responsible  for  the  "  Adventurous 
Voyages  "  passed  off  under  his  name.  The  ex- 
tract given  from  his  Hydrography,  on  page  93, 
shows  that  he  limits  the  southern  border  of  N^or- 
urabega  to  about  latitude  42°  N.,  and  therefore 
the  statement  of  the  Adventurous  Voyages,  which 
puts  the  river  in  latitude  30°  N.,  is  not  his. 

This  statement  of  the  compiler  is  equaled  only 
by  the  blunder  of  Hakluyt  (see  ante,  p.  99),  who 
transports  the  fig  tree  from  Yucatan  to  the  banks 
of  the  St.  Lawrence. 


I 


%'    ; 


134 


APPENDIX. 


And  it  is  a  very  noticeable  fact  that  the  Que- 
bec Literary  and  Historical  Society  has  per- 
petuated the  blunders  ofHakluyt,  by  turning  his 
translation  back  into  French.  Hence  on  page 
86  of  Voyages  da  Dhcoiwerter  au  Canada^  we  find 
that  country  spoken  of  as  follows:  et  cetle  terre 
peut  produire  des  Flgucs  et  des  Poires. 

While  these  things  stand  on  record  it  will  be 
idle  for  any  one  to  attempt  to  impeach  Jean  All- 
fonsce,  especially  in  his  latitudes,  as  his  perfect 
knowledge  of  the  astrolabe  rendered  his  calcu- 
lations every  way  worthy  of  trust. 

VI. 

Page  102. —  The  voyage  of  Maldonado  is  here 
referred  to  in  the  note,  and  it  is  interesting  to 
observe  in  that  connection  that  the  ideas  of  the 
Spaniards  were  often  very  confused  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Baccalaos.  In  the  French  edition  of  Go- 
mera  (1569,  page  49),  we  read : 

"  There  is  a  large  tract  of  land  that  projects 
itself  pointwise  into  the  sea,  which  tract  is  called 
Baccaleos.  Its  greatest  altitude  is  forty-four  and 
a  half  degrees." 


VII. 
Page  111. —  The  author  expected  ere  this,  to 
have  received  a  copy  of  Allfonsce's  work,  made 
from  the  original  manuscript,  which   probably 


APPENDIX. 


135 


shows  the  extent  of  his  observations  on  the  New 
England  coast.  That  he  visited  Maine  appears 
not  unlikely,  for  the  reason  that  some  knowledge 
of  the  physical  characteristics  of  Penobscot  bay 
is  attributed  to  him  in  the  extract  by  Lescarbot. 

We  also  find  a  good  reason  why  he  should 
have  visited  the  entire  New  England  coast,  in 
the  fact  that  Roberval  was  entitled  to  this  whole 
region  by  the  terms  of  his  patent.  One  of  the 
titles  conferred  upon  him  by  the  king  of  France 
was  "Lord  of  Norumbega."  Mr.  Parkman,  in 
his  Pioneers  of  New  France  (p.  197),  disputes  this, 
and  cites  a  copy  of  Roberval's  commission,  made 
from  the  original,  which  does  not  allude  to  it, 
and  suggests  that  the  titles  were  invented  by 
Charlevoix  "  for  the  sake  of  their  bearing  on  the 
boundary  disputes  with  England  in  his  own  day." 
But  he  is  very  properly  reminded  by  Mr.  Shea, 
in  his  Charlevoix  (p.  129),  that  he  has  confounded 
the  commission,  with  patent.  The  latter  is  given  in 
full  by  Lescarbot  (p.  397,  ed.  1618). 

Roberval  was,  according  to  the  royal  authoritj^ 
"  Lord  of  Norurabega,"  and  thus  the  priority  of  all 
English  patents  of  the  New  England  coast  is  tech- 
nically quashed.  AUfonsce  in  visiting  the  coast 
probably  had  reference  to  his  employer's  interests. 
Yet,  while  we  are  certain  that  he  visited  Massa- 
chusetts bay,  we  cannot  just  now  positively  affirm 
anything  more.  ' 


136 


APPENDIX. 


VIII. 

Page  113. —  Tlie  proof  of  Cartier's  fourth  voy- 
age is  not  so  clear  as  might  be  wished.  Nor  does 
it  show  that  Cartior  performed  any  otlier  office 
than  that  of  a  messenger.  So  far  as  the  account 
goes,  Roberval  may  have  had  a  ship  with  him,  in 
which  he  returned  without  receiving  any  aid 
from  Cartier.  We  learn  of  this  matter  from  the 
accounts  of  the  difficulties  that  occurred  in  the 
way  of  settlement  between  the  two  leaders  after 
their  return,  when  Francis  the  First  appointed 
Robert  Legoupil  arbiter  of  the  case.  Ferland 
says  in  his  Cours  d'Hisloire  (p.  45)  that 

"  According  to  Lescarbot,  Francis  I,  unable  to 
send  the  aid  solicited,  and  desiring  to  employ 
Roberval  in  the  army,  conveyed  his  will  to  him 
through  Jacques  Cartier,  who  was  ordered  to 
undertake  a  fourth  voyage  to  Canada,  to  bring 
back  to  France  the  wretched  renniarits  of  the 
colony.  Official  documents  inform  us  that  this 
voyage  lasted  eight  months." 

The  documents  upon  which  he  bases  his  opir 
nion  are  those  contained  in  the  publication  of  the 
Quebec  Literary  and  Historical  Society  for  1862. 
Alluding  to  Cartier,  they  speak  of  "  Eight  months 
that  he  has  been  to  return  and  bring  the  said 
Roberval  in  the  said  Canada."  And  again,  of 
*'  havina:  set  out  in  the  fall  of  1543  on  his  fourth 


APPENDIX. 


137 


voyage  Cartiev  would  have  wintered  in  Canada, 
and  would  have  left  it  at  the  end  of  April  or  in 
the  heginning  of  May,  1544."  Thevet  reports 
that  lioberval  was  murdered  in  Paris. 


IX. 

Page  113. —  According  to  the  Quebec  Literary 
and  Historical  Society's  publications,  18G2  (p. 
113),  M.  Manet, author  of  Biographic  des  Malouins 
CMbrcs,  holds : 

"  That  Koberval  after  restoring  his  fort  sent 
Jean  Alphonse  de  Xaintonge  north  of  New 
Foundland  to  seek  a  passage  to  the  Indies  [see 
ante  p.  104.]  The  latter  ran  up  as  far  as  52°  N.,  and 
went  no  farther.  We  are  not  told  how  long  he 
was  engaged  on  this  voyage,  but  we  may  conjec- 
ture that  he  found  de  Roberval  no  longer  in  Ca- 
nada, inasmuch  as  he  makes  a  report  to  Jacques 
Cartier." 

On  this  the  Quebec  editor  remarks : 

"If  the  Pilot  John  Alphonse  made  a  report  of 
his  discoveries  to  Cartier,  it  must  have  been  on  a 
fourth  voyage  made  by  the  latter  in  the  summer 
of  1543,  or  after  his  return  to  Brittany." 

But  in   regard  to  this  report  by  Allfonsce  to 

Cartier  we  at  present  know  nothing ;    while  on 

page,  105  we  have  already  shown  that  the  voyage 

to  the  north  must,  with  good  reason,  have  been 

18 


I 


138 


APPENDIX. 


made  in  the  summer  of  1542,  as  after  that  time 
Roberval  could  luive  had  no  ship  to  spare.  M. 
Manet's  remark,  that,  on  his  return,  Allfonsee 
found  Roberval  gone,  therefore,  has  no  foundation, 
and  indicates  that  M.  Manet  really  knew  nothing 
about  the  matter.  At  least  he  gives  no  authority 
for  his  opinion,  which  leaves  us  to  infer  that  he 
had  none  to  give. 


In  connection  with  this  subject,  a  point  brought 
forward  in  the  volume  devoted  to  the  Popham 
Celebration  may  be  properly  noticed.  Mr.  Se- 
wall  says: 

"Monhegan,  signifying  an  island  of  the  main, 
earliest  appears  in  the  panorama  of  the  historic 
scene  of  English  life  and  enterprise  on  New  Eng- 
land shores.  Pedro  Menedez,  Governor  of  Flo- 
rida, in  dispatches  forwarded  by  him  to  the 
Court  of  Spain,  [1588]  tells  Philip  U,  '  that  in 
July  of  the  year,  the  English  were  inhabiting  an 
island  in  latitude  43°,  eight  leagues  from  the 
land,  where  the  Indians  were  very  numerous.' 
It  was  the  story  of  '  Carlos  Morea,  a  Spaniard, 
who  had  learned  the  facts  in  London  and  com- 
municated them  to  Menedez.'  There  can  hardly 
be  a  doubt  that  Monhegan  Island  was  the  spot 
occupied  by  these  English  dwellers  in  the  New 


^n 


APPENDIX. 


139 


World.  Indeed  it  was  only  in  August,  three 
yc'jirrf  before,  tlmt  near  this  spot,  the  largest  ship 
of  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  struck." 

Tiie  author  of  the  above  was  led  into  error  by 
mistaking  the  language  of  Bancroft,  who  puts 
the  place  of  the  shipwreck  not  south  of  "the  lati- 
tude of  Wiscasset,"  without  giving  the  longitude. 
Gilbert's  first  ship  was  lost  on  the  Isle  of  Sable, 
east  of  Xova  Scotia.  (See  Ilakluyt,  vol.  iii,  p. 
164,  ed.  1600.) 

As  regards  the  other  point,  we  see,  by  referring 
to  the  full  relation,  that  it  was  simply  a  sailor's 
report,  and  undoubtedly  grew  out  of  the  accounts 
of  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert's  voyage  and  the  at- 
tempts that  preceded  it.  Besides,  we  have  no 
further  report  on  the  subject,  though  Menedez 
says  that  he  had  already  sent  a  ship  to  reconnoitre 
the  coast  as  far  as  San  Juan,  in  latitude  39°  N., 
and  promises  to  write  again  should  anything  be- 
come known.     He  speaks  as  follows  : 

"  There  is  a  sailor,  Carlos  Morea,  who  says  it 
ig  certain  that,  in  the  island  of  San  Juan,  near  the 
Baenllaos,  the  English  have  a  settlement;  for  two 
years  ago,  being  in  London,  a  vessel  arrived  there, 
on  which  came  a  friend  of  his,  who  told  him 
positively  that  they  were  inhabiting  an  island,  in 
forty-three  degrees  of  latitude,  eight  leagues  from 
the  main  land ;  that  there  were  great  numbers 
of  Indians  there,  of  which  he  also  feels  certain. 


I 


1 


i  .1 


140 


APPENDIX. 


I  will  inform  your  majesty  how  it.  is  in  the  man- 
ner stated." 

It  ma}'  also  be  added  that  the  sailor  himself 
appears  uncertain  of  his  latitude,  by  seeming  to 
make  the  island  in  question  that  of  San  Jiian. 
(See  Sailing  Directions  of  Henry  Hudson,  p.  47). 
Note  also  that  the  Spanish  used  "Baccaleos" 
loosely ;  that  Monhegan  is  ten  miles,  instead  of 
eight  leagues  from  the  land.  The  sailor  probably 
meant  Nantucket.  Mr.  Buckingham  Smith  ori- 
ginally translated  the  statement,  but  framed  no 
theory  on  the  subject. 


I  N  D  E  X 


7;j. 

Artiiiisi,  JoiinniH,  12t,  m-v 
Alllonscc. 

A^rjissiz,  80  //. 

AfiKiinciii,  m,  128. 

A<j()iicy,  CA,  (')('». 

Allctbnscc,  Hue  Allfonsco. 

Allf'onsco,  sonnet  to,  Frontis- 
[liccc  ;  i)ilot  of  llobcrval,  93  ; 
went  to  Canada,  03, 113  ;  his 
Hydrography,  93,  93,  108; 
vi(nv8  of  north-west  jjassage, 
94  ;  sailed  under  tlie  Portu- 
{juese,  95 ;  discovered  Mas- 
sachusetts bay,  90,  105 ; 
voyayo  to  the  nortli,  105 ; 
time  at  sea,  107  ;  jdace  of 
birth,  108  ;  in  prison,  108 ; 
tin)(!  of  death,  108  ;  his  eu- 
loffist,  109  ;  hifyh  character, 
110;  in  advance  of  his 
times.  111  ;  biojjraphy  of, 
113  ;  claimed  by  the  Portu- 
jjuese,  113  ;  his  Rnttier,  114, 
119  ;  French  orijjin,  115 ; 
Avantureux  voyajjes,  116, 
119 ;  date  of  Hydrography, 
118 ;  Cosmofrraphy,  119, 
120;  place  of  death,  130; 
sailed  in  Portuguese  vessels, 
131  ;  left  Portuguese  ser- 
vice, 121 ;  97,  98,  99, 100, 101, 
103,  103,  139,  131, 133, 134, 
137. 


Alphonso,  John,  97,  107,  see 
AlHouHce. 

American  Anticjuarian  Society, 
35  /(. 

Angoulenie,  73,  73. 

Angouleme,  the  bishoj)  of, 
109  n. 

Annals  of  Florida,  01. 

Antarctic  France,  Singulari- 
ties of,  74,  130. 

Antiijuitates  American.T,  (juot- 
ed,  11,  15,  16,20,37. 

A])pendix,  133. 

Arembec,  49,  50,  51,  see  No- 
rumbega. 

Arias,  Gomez,  103  n. 

Arnoe-Maguean  Collection,  18. 

Arnodie,  69,  70,  71. 

Asia,  41,  97. 

Asturies,  115. 

Atlantic,  the  south,  70. 

Aymard,  Vincent,  117. 

Baccalaos,  53,  00,  71,   103  n, 

134,  139,  140. 
Bancroft,  Mr.,  135, 139. 
Barcia,  01. 
Bardsen,  chronicle  of,  32,  34, 

37,  38. 
Barry,  his  history,  91. 
Bay  of  Fundy,  14,  73. 
Bear  Island,  15,  17,  19. 
Bear  killed,  1.5. 
Bearse,  Mr.  J.  Y.,  87  n,  88  n. 


142 


INDEX. 


Belle  IhIc,  97. 
Bcriiili's  ledgo,  87  n. 
BuUllo,  53  n,  58  n,  98  n. 
Biographio  Univorsello,  74. 
Bishoj)  Eric,  26,  27. 
Bissclin,  Oliver,  116,  118. 
Blue  Hills,  83. 
Blunt's  Coast  Pilot,  24. 
Boston,  9,  21,  24 
Boston  Harbor,  24,  25. 
Brattahlid,  37  n. 
Brazil,  108,  130. 
Brereton,  91. 
Bretons,  72. 

Brovoort,  J.  Carson,  94  n. 
Brunei,  117. 
Buzzard's  Bay,  20,  24. 
Bvpfd,  East,  of  Greenland,  33, 
'35. 

Cabot,  54,  58  n,  101. 

Cabots,  the,  91. 

Camden  Hills,  67. 

Canada,  64,  69,  97,  128. 

Cape  Ann,  96. 

Cape  Arenas,  71  11, 90. 

Cape  Breton,  42,  45, 47,  49,  51, 

55,  71. 
Cape  Cod,  6,  7,  9,  10,  13,  15, 

17, 19,  20,  42,  71  rt,  82,  84, 

85,  85  a,  87,  89  n,  90,  96. 
Cape  de  Bas,  50,  50,  57. 
Cape  De  Bas  Harbor,  50. 
Cape  de  Muclia  isles,  67. 
Cape  de  Sper,  51. 
Cape  Farewell,  38. 
Cape  of  the  Isles,  67. 
Capci  Sable,  14. 
Cape  St.  Mary,  90. 
Carpont,  97. 
Cartier,  Jacques,  100, 113, 129, 

136. 
Cathay,  95. 

Charlevoix,  Pere,  103, 115, 135. 
Chatham,  87  n. 
Chicora,  53. 
China,  53. 


Clav  Pounds,  89  n. 
Co{,rnac,  105,  115,  110. 
Cosa,  ma))  of,  41,  42. 
Cosmograpl'ie  Universelle,  45, 

64. 
Courtmanciie,  131. 
Crabb's  ledge,  87  n. 
Crignon,  Pierre,  44,  45. 
Crosses,  Thorvald's,  9,  10. 
Crossness,  9. 
Cortereal,  91. 
Cortez,  62. 

Danes,  35  n. 

Danish    government,   expcdi 

tion  of,  33. 
Darien,  130. 

Davezac,  M.,  93, 100, 112. 
De  Prato,  56. 
Di(!i)pe,  44. 

Discovery,  north-western,  57. 
Doane,  Mr.  John,  85  ;i,  86. 
Dominus  Vobiscum,  49. 
Donnacona,  131. 
Drake,  his  history  of  Boston, 

92. 
Drogeo,  40, 41. 

East  Indies,  104, 115. 
Eastham,  86  n. 
Edouard  du  Paz,  121. 
Eint;r8fiord,  36. 
El  Pico,  61  11. 
Eleste,  38. 
England,  57,  58. 
England,  King  of,  62, 11. 
English  ship,  53,  62. 
Englishmen,  first  in    Maine, 

52 
Eric,  Saga  of,  18. 
Ericsfiord,  37. 
Ericson,  Thorvald,  83. 
Erondelle,  132. 
Euro])eans,  first  on  coast  of 

Maine,  25. 
Explorations  in  Greenland,  33. 
Explorers  of  America,  40. 


INDEX. 


143 


Forlftiid,  130. 

Fi>;  TrtM',  D!)  n. 

Fiiiiibocr(.,  37,  28. 

FiSll,  3;i 

Fisliing  vessels,  50,  55. 

Fji'ld,  23. 

Florida,  45,  49.  63,  64,  75,  77, 

!I4.  08,  !)i),  133. 
Fluviiiin  liiindo,  36. 
Folsoiii,  liis  History, 90. 
Fox  Island,  66. 
France,  105. 
Francis  I,  136. 
French  Pilots,  73. 
Freydis,  20,  27,  28. 

(inrda,  37  n. 
(lastaldi,  45,  65. 
(tcnrin,  M.  Leon,  118. 
(ieoffraphie.  Bulletin  of,  112. 
Georges,  sliouls  of,  42,   88  n, 

Hi)  n,  90. 
Gilbert,    Sir    Humphrey,    45, 

78,91,101,139. 
Goodwin  Sands,  89, 7i. 
Gosnold,  85    n,  80,  88   n,  90, 

91,  96. 
Graah,  Captain,  Expedition  of, 

33. 
Grand  Bay,  97. 
Grand  River,  64. 
Green  Mountains,  67. 
Greenland,  8 ;  names  of,  30, 

31,33;  settled,  33;  lost,  32, 

34,  35  n,  38,  39,  77,  84. 
Groulandia  Antiqua,  84. 
Gudrida,  7. 

GulfofMaine,  7,  21,  22. 
Gulf  Stream,  56. 
Gurnet  Point,  9,  10. 

Hakluyt,  41,42,  46,  47,  48,  51, 
57,  58,  97,  98,  99,  100,  103, 
107.  113,  115, 119,  120,  133, 
139. 

Havre,  75. 

Ileiniskringla,  120. 


Ilelffe,  27,  28. 

Helluland,  15,  18. 

Henlestatt!,  38. 

Henry  VIII,  41. 

Heriulfsness,  36,  37,  n. 

Ilerrera,  52,  54,  58,  59. 

IIier,36. 

Highland  Light,  89,  n. 

Honfleur,  120. 

Hop,  22, 23,  24. 

Iluarfs,  38. 

Hudson,  Henry,  140 ;  Sailing 

Directions  of,  38  n. 
Hudson  river,  67. 

Iceland,  21. 

Imperial  Library  of  Paris,  92. 

Indians,  61. 

Island,  15,  17,19. 

Isle  Nauset,  85  n. 

Isle  of  Demons,  76,  83. 

Isle  of  St.  Croix,  71. 

Isle  Thevet,  71. 

Isl(!sboro,  67. 

Italy,  59. 

James  Head,  87  n. 
Jocher,  his  Lexicon,  74,  75. 
Juan  Florentin,  01. 
Judi,  69. 

Karlsefno,  Thorfinn,  6,  7,  8,  9, 
10,  15,  18.  20,  22,  26,  43,  83. 

Kennebec,  14. 

Kialarness,  6, 7, 10, 1 1 ,  15. 20, 21 . 

King  Henry  VIII,  50,  58. 

Kohl,  Dr.  J.  H.,  5,  6,  7,  9,  10, 
11,12,15,17,18,20,21,  22, 
23,  25,  26,  28,  30,  31,  40,  42, 
45,  48,  53,  .53,  56,  63,  74,  78, 
79,  81,  84,  92, 101,  125. 

Labadists,  86,  130. 
Labrador,  15, 104,  105. 
Lancaster  Sound,  39. 
Landnama,  126. 
Lardner,  Dr.,  98  n. 


144 


INDEX. 


La  Hoquette,  76. 

Lcbrija,  113. 

Le  Olore,  103. 

Legoupil,  Robert,  136. 

Leif,  8. 

Lolcwoll,  31  ;  his  Moyn-ii  Age, 
36,  37,  38,  40. 

Lery,  his  Brazil,  75. 

Lescarbot,  127,  129,  135,  136. 

Lodmundfiord,  37,  n. 

Long  Island,  66,  67. 

Long  Island  Historical  Soci- 
ety of,  87,  94,  n. 

liorcl  of  Norumbega,  135. 

MacDonald,  134. 

Madoc,91. 

Maine,  10,  11,  13,  13,  14.  15, 
17,  20,  102  11 ;  expedition  to, 
21  ;  country  of,  22, 25,  40,  41, 
83,  111. 

Maine  Historical  Society,  5. 

Maldonado,  101. 

Malebarre.  89. 

Mallard,  Thomas,  118. 

Manamoit  point,  87  n,  88  n. 

Manet,  M.,  137. 

Mai)8,  of  Cape  Cod,  89  ;  Span- 
ish and  Portuguese,  90  ;  Ice- 
landic, 41 ;  Cosa's,  41. 

Margry,  M.  Pierre,  93,  94,  95, 
99  «,  100,  103, 110,  112.  119. 

Markland,  6,  7,  12,  15,  16,  17, 
25  n. 

Marnef,  Jean  de,  110,  118. 

Marot,  109. 

Martha's  Vineyard,  88  h. 

Martyr,  Peter,  44. 

Marv  of  (iuilford,  42,  47,  48, 
52,  53,  55,  50,  58,  59,  62. 

Massachusetts  Bay,  100,  104  ; 
discovery  of,  80 ;  by  the 
Northmen ;  by  Karlsefne, 
83  ;  shown  by  map  of  Steph- 
aniiis,  84,  92 ;  by  Allfonsce, 
92,  95 ;  date  of  his  disco- 
very, 107. 


Massacre  by  Froydis,  28. 
Menedez,  Pedro,  138. 
Mercator,  34,  67. 
Mela  Incognita,  48. 
Mexico,  72,  77, 130. 
Milton  Blue  Hills,  23,  25. 
Monhegan,  Isle  of,  138. 
Montana  Verde,  67. 
Monument  to  Verrazano,  60. 
Morea,  Carlos,  138,  139. 
Morse,  his  Gazetteer,  87  n. 
Mount  Desert,  08,  70,  128. 
Mount  Ho])e  Bay,  23. 
Munder,  37  n. 

Nantucket,  42,  87,  88, 140. 

Nauset  Beach,  80  /*. 

Nanset  Harbor,  57  n. 

Nestorian  bishop,  76 

New  Brunswji'k,  51,  65,  73. 

New  Castile,  61  //,. 

New  England,  27,  40,  45, 46, 

72,  81  :  coast,  100. 
New  Foundland,  42,  40,  47, 

48,  49,  50,  51,  00,  63,  103, 

115, 132. 
New  France,  44,  98,  99. 
New  Hampshire,  17. 
New  Hami)8hire,  65. 
New-land,  104. 
Newport,  101  n. 
Newport  Mill,  27. 
New  York,  101 /;. 
New  York,  bay  of,  106. 
North  American  Review,  125. 
North  Carolina,  53. 
Normans,  55. 

Northern  Antitjuarians,  33. 
Nortlmien,  the,  22,  82,  84,  101, 

126. 
North-west  passage,  50. 
Norumbega,  42,  44,  45,  46,  47, 

48,  49,  60,  65,  76,  98,   127, 

130, 132,  135. 
Nova  Scotia,  0,  7,  13,  13,  14, 

16,   17,   18,   19,  45,  46,  57, 

96. 


INDEX. 


145 


Ortclius,  34. 
Ovii^lo,  n'i],  u4. 
Ovsf,  the  river, 


128. 


Pftlf.'ey,  his  History,  81,  91. 
Pnrliimin,  IIJ.*). 
PcinptcgoL't,  138. 
Pfii()l)S(-()t  riviT,  45,  G4,  06,  70. 
Pcutatfriiel,  the   Priuce,   107, 

111. 
Pcni,  i;50. 

Pie.lni()iit,i)ilotof,r);i,r)8.00,117. 
I'iiu'lh),  Aiitoine  du  Lijon,  119. 
I'imtc,  02  II. 
i'isciitaiiiia,  79. 
Plymouth,  9,  20,  21,  82. 
I'nliit  Ciirc,  8i)  //,  87  //. 
Point  ()ill)i'rt,8(!,  87  «,  89  7J. 
Poiti.'rs,  108,  111. 
Pirto  Hico,  52,  54,  55,  57,  58. 
I'ortujrnl,  122. 
Provincctown,  21. 
Piirclias,  49,  51. 
Pyrcni'cs,  the,  115. 

Quobi'c,  103, 132  ;  Literary  So- 
ciety oi;  134,  130. 

KalKilais,  109,  129. 

Hace  Point,  21. 

Kain,  12,  24,27. 

Haimisio,  44,  58,  01. 

«ho(le  Island,  7,  20,  21. 

Rihero,  03. 

Pio  Janerio,  74. 

PolxTval,  97, 103, 104, 105, 100, 

113,114,115,  129,  135,  103. 
Koclielh',  103,  113. 
Honsard.  tlie  poet,  119  n. 
Pom-n,  118. 
Piiscelli,  90. 
Hut,  Jolin,  42,  47,  51,52,54, 

50,  57,  59,  00,  05,  98  n,  101. 
live  Beach,  G5. 

Satfa,  21,25,  42,  82,  120. 
Sajruenay,  95, 103. 

19 


Saine  Terre,  M.,  107. 
Sainjjelais,  tlio  Shade  of,  117. 
St.  Croix,  73,  79. 
St.  Domingo,  57. 
Saint-CJelais,  Mollin  de,   100, 

109  ft,  117. 
St.  Gorman,  57. 
Saint  Johan  dcs  Pretz  street, 

120. 
St.  John's,  50.  55,  50,  57,  60, 

103, 105. 
St.  Juan,  53. 

St.  Lawrence,  40,  100,  106. 
St.  Malo,  131. 

Saint  Marthe,  Scovoh-  de,  117. 
St.  Tliomas,  40  ii. 
Saintonnfe,  province  of,  115. 
Saintongeois,  i)oet,  117. 
Sampscm,  tlie,  42,  48,  51,  50, 

57. 
San  Antonio,  07. 
San  Juan,  139. 
Santona,  115. 
Schoodic  Point,  07. 
Sea-Kln}fs  of  Norway,  120. 
Sccalart,  Paulin,  120,121. 
Sewall,  Mr.,  138. 
Shua,  131,  135. 
Situate  Harbor,  24. 
Sliolnus,  91. 
Slut's  Bush,  80,  87. 
Smith,  Buckinjxhnm,  01  ri,  140. 
Soils,  Jean  Diaz  de,  113,  122. 
South  America.  72,  74. 
Southey,  his  Brazil,  74,  w. 
Spain,  02. 
Si)aniards,  53 
Stepl  inius,      Sigurdus,      his 

inais  84,  89  a. 
Stevens,  Mr.,  41,  01. 
Straumflord,  20,  24. 
Sturleson,  Snorre,  120. 
Surveys,  geolojrical,  42. 

Tartary,  94,  97. 
Thevet,  .\ndre,  03,  04,  05.  00, 
07,  08,  72,  78,  101.  127,  129. 


i 


I 


\i 


14G 


INDEX. 


Torfipus,  work  on  Old  Oreon- 
lanrl,  32,  33,  34. 

Tliorfinn,  account  of,  18  ;  nar- 
rative of,  18,  24. 

Thorhall,  20.  21,  83. 

Thorlacius,  Theodore,  34,  39. 

Thomo,  41,r)8. 

Tliorvald,  8,  i),  28. 

Two  Chateaux,  76. 

Fnipeds,  83,  131. 
United  States,  47. 
Utopia,  110. 

Varnhajfen,  M.  do,  121. 

Vcfra,  Garcilaso  do  la,  102  n. 

Venice,  111. 

Verra,  11,  100. 

Verrazano,  58,  59,  61,  89  n, 

101. 
Villejjapfnon,  75  n. 
Vinland,  7,  8,  20,  25  n,  26,  27, 

28,  89. 


Visscher's  map,  90. 
Voyage  of  John  Rut,  42. 
Vumenot,   Maugis,   117, 
120. 


119, 


Wel)l)'B  Island,  87  «. 
Weirs,  76. 

West  Indies,  44,  55,  56.  62. 
Williamson's  History  of  Maine, 

66. 
Wonderstrand,  20. 
Woomskiold,  33. 
Wytfliet's    Ptolemaicfc    Aug- 

mcntum,  68,  129. 

Yucatan,  99  n,  132. 

Zem,the,32;  map  of,  32,34«,, 

35,  36,  37,  38,  42,  91. 
Zeno,  Antonio,  30,  39. 
Zeno  Brothers,  30. 
Zeno,  Nicolo,  30. 
Zuria,  38. 


ERRATA. 


Pagfl  12.  line  seven,  for  imitlf.  rend  itidtil ;  for  iitf/ve,  rend  i 
Vti'^e  ;w.  line  ton.  for  to  rif//itli/  fiiijily^  read,  to  apjily  rightly. 
I'u{j;e  (W,  note,  (ar  clothes,  wad  ciulhs. 
I'age  80,  line  twelve,  for  has,  read  have. 
I'uge  8S,  note,  for  Mass.,  reud  N.  H!. 


vtqiie. 


i 


«' 


42. 

117,    119, 


)G.  62. 

of  Maine, 


cm    AufT- 


32, 34  n, 
1. 


I 


^le. 


